And the Horse You Rode In On
by Qweb
Summary: The Rangers and their mechanical steeds are on Tortuna trying to make contact with Geezy and avoid Slaver Lords. When separated, they must run and fight their way to safety. Lots of action.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Galaxy Rangers fans, please skip to the disclaimer below. This note is for my faithful Five-0 followers who are saying "What the f-!" right about now. This is about my other favorite crime-fighting foursome. (Like the alliteration so far?) Be reassured I am not writing anything but Five-0 at the moment, but I found a computer at work old enough to convert some of my old fan fic files out of MacWrite, so I plan to post a few stories written long ago. (Yes, Poohbear, Lancer next.)**_

_**For you newcomers who might stick around, the Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is an animated series about four scientifically superpowered law officers protecting Earth and its allies in a space cop opera with an Old West motif. So you might get the crusty old prospector, but he'll have a talking mechanical burro. Episodes ranged from downright silly to outright tragic and included everything from an Oklahoma-esque land rush to a space armada attacking Earth to a museum art theft and a three-dimensional car chase. And don't forget the spiders from Mars. Awesome show. So maybe you'd like to stick around and try something new, but if you can't bear the thought of talking — excuse me — singing robot horses, then no harm, no foul, see you back in Hawaii.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Galaxy Rangers. However, I have purchased episodes on Beta (appropriately), VHS, DVD and iTunes, so I think that earned me the right to play in this sandbox. So, Galaxy Rangers, ho!**_

**And the Horse You Rode In On  
>Chapter 1<strong>

"_The sun was bright the day we left  
>And everything got hot,<br>But that's the way it's always been.  
>The sun can't change its spots.<em>

"Oh, Tortuna!  
>Oh, don't you cry for us.<br>We're gonna make our fortunes soon.  
>Utopia or bust!"<p>

Shane Gooseman winced, and thought, for the thirteenth time in two verses, that the outlaw planet Tortuna was no place to be singing.

There was no telling why Voyager had started the song. There was never any telling with that horse. But Doc, Niko and Mel hadn't needed to join in. And to make matters worse, Mel was the only one in tune.

Tortuna was the stronghold of humanity's most deadly enemy, the Queen of the Crown. She offered a bounty on humans, with a special bonus for the living, breathing carcasses of the Galaxy Rangers. The Queen owned Tortuna.

And here were the four of them, riding along, singing — as if they were on their way to a church picnic!

Of course, they were in the middle of the desolate red-tinted wastelands that made up most of the planet since the Queen had decimated its native population. It wasn't likely that anyone would hear the singing. But it was the principle of the thing, Goose decided.

He pulled the drooping brown cowboy hat of his Zangwill disguise over his eyes and snorted through the heavy brown scarf that was wound around his neck.

Triton echoed his snort of disgust.

Goose patted his silver steed's metallic neck. Triton strutted a bit at the attention, but remained silent.

Trust Triton to maintain silence on a hostile planet, Goose thought with fond pride. You wouldn't catch his horse singing!

"_The cosmic dust, it made us sneeze.  
>The Big Bang made us wince.<br>Got wet in meteor showers  
>and blowed dry in solar winds."<em>

Goose looked ahead at his captain's stiff back and the shiny golden rump of his sturdy steed.

Brutus might be slow of wit and slow of foot next to the newer model robot horses, but he had his good points. For one thing, he didn't sing.

The captain was also silent. Zachary Fox was as likely to sing on Tortuna as Triton was to eat hay.

Zach seemed to be riding mechanically, leaving the path finding to Brutus. His gaze was distant. His thoughts obviously far away.

And just as obviously, he wasn't going to do anything about this noise. Goose sighed.

"_Oh, Tortuna!  
>Oh, don't you cry for us.<br>We're gonna make our fortunes soon.  
>Utopia or bust!<em>

"The Milky Way was curdled  
>And the Big Dipper got bent.<br>We traveled through a black hole  
>And returned before we went."<p>

The blond ranger reined back and Triton fell in step with gleaming, bluish Voyager. Goose eyed her rider with disfavor.

"Doc!" he shouted over Voyager's attempt at high C, "This is no place to be singing!"

Walter "Doc" Hartford interrupted himself to say, "No place better, my Goose-man." The black man nodded at the dreary, ruined landscape around them.

"This place needs all the singing it can get."

Before Goose could argue, Doc had leaped back into the song again.

Goose scowled and caught Niko's eye. She winked at him. He gaped at her, then opened his mouth to continue his futile argument.

"_Oh, Tortuna!  
>Oh, don't you cry for us.<br>We're gonna make our fortunes soon.  
>Utopia or b…"<em>

Zach's hand shot up in the ages old cavalry signal for "halt." Four voices cut off in mid-word. The three horses behind him stopped dead. Goose shook his head in admiration. That was a commanding officer.

The captain didn't even notice the silence behind him, though he would have noted its absence. He cocked his head at Brutus, whose sudden halt had triggered Zachary's signal. The golden horse's ears swiveled from side to side. He stamped a foot as if puzzled.

"What's wrong, Brute?" Zach asked.

"Horses, sir. Robot horses," the robot said in his deep voice.

"At least two dozen," Voyager's squeaky soprano put in.

"Deathsteeds!" Triton added, as his sensors locked in on the sounds that were too faint for human ears.

Zachary looked back at Mel, the beige horse who preferred a beige name and who had the most sensitive detectors of any of the steeds. Mel took his time, counting the hollow hoof beats.

"Twenty-seven Deathsteeds, heading .356 degrees, bearing 9.7, declination minus 12," he said in his calm, mellow voice.

"Minus 12," Niko mused. "Must be down in one of those canyons."

"They're going to cross our path," Zach said. "Think they'll be able to spot us?"

Insufficient data, captain," Mel answered. "Iron ore in the canyon walls makes sensor readings uncertain, so the Crown Agents will only be able to detect us visually. They can only do that if they come out of the canyon, or if we go in."

"Which is exactly what we plan to do," Doc said sardonically, then a thought struck him. "Won't that path take them right past our rendezvous?"

Zachary nodded.

"Geezy might be in trouble," he said. "Let's keep going … " His eyes twinkled as he added, " … quietly."

About time! Goose thought — quietly.

* * *

><p>They reached the lip of the arroyo and looked down. From their vantage point, the area looked like a maze of canyons and mesas. Once the site of a geologic upheaval, the rocks and cliffs were split by a multitude of fissures. The region looked cracked and broken, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to a pile of gigantic blocks.<p>

"No wonder they call it the Fractured Land," Niko commented.

"Looks like a jigsaw puzzle after the Kiwi Kids get through with it," Doc said.

"An easy place to get lost," Zachary added.

"Good thing we have a map," Doc said lightly.

"The closer we get, the more the ore-bearing rock distorts my sensors," Mel contributed. "It is an unpleasant sensation."

"We don't need sensors to recognize that," Goose said, pointing at a cloud of dust rising from one arroyo.

"That's a whole buncha riders," Doc said.

"Twenty-seven," Niko reminded him.

"One troop of Crown Agents, two officers …" Goose mused.

"… And one Slaver Lord," Zachary growled, his blue eyes narrowed in bridled fury.

Zachary Fox had fought Slaver Lords and been the soul-controlled tool of a Slaver Lord.

He didn't care for Slaver Lords.

Doc studied the erratic readouts of his CDU. "It looks like they're still heading toward Geezy's," Goose said ominously.

"Maybe they've got a map, too," Voyager said brightly.

Goose and Doc both opened their mouths to snap at the flaky horse, but Zachary appeared to take her suggestion seriously.

"Maybe not a map, but how about a navigational beacon?" the captain asked.

"A homing device!" Doc breathed.

He tuned his CDU at the same time the horses tuned their sensors.

"Bingo! I'm picking up an energy pulse from the direction of Geezy's place," Doc reported. The horses confirmed the ranger's findings.

"Can we beat the Crown Agents to Geezy?" Zach asked.

"Easy as pi," Doc replied.

"Then we'd better get to him before those Crown Agents do," the captain decided. "Galaxy Rangers, ho!"

The robot horses slid down a slope to the relatively flat canyon floor, then started forward at a gallop. Triton stretched out his Model 6 Racing Chassis, reveling in the speed. There was nothing the metal steed liked better than running full tilt with his friend Shane Gooseman on his back.

Triton quickly outstripped the others who stuck together, letting Brutus and his heavy, 3000-series chassis set the pace. It wasn't a slow pace, unless you compared it to Triton's. As they came in sight of Geezy's cabin, Mel began to lag back, though he had a speedier chassis than Brutus' heavy frame.

"Something wrong, Mel?" Niko asked in concern.

The steed's sensors swiveled uncertainly.

"I fear so," Mel replied. "That energy pulse. It seems disturbingly familiar, like a homing device, plus something else. It reminds me more of … a timer! Niko, it's a bomb!"

"Goose! Stop!" Niko shouted. Mel raised his electronic voice in a shout, "Triton! Stop! Danger!"

Goose hauled back on the control reins. Triton planted his hind feet, rearing in his effort to halt his forward momentum. Goose had to cling to the saddle horn with both hands to keep his seat.

An explosion rocked the canyon, catching Goose and Triton off balance.

Geezy's cabin erupted with a clap of thunder, bringing down both sides of the canyon in an earth-shaking avalanche.

The blast threw Triton from his feet and slammed him down on his back. Goose tried to touch his badge, tried to leap clear, but he didn't have time. Triton's metal frame crashed down on the ranger's all-too-human chest.

"Goose!" Niko cried in fear, getting a mouthful of blast-borne grit for her trouble.

Farther from the explosion and braced on all four feet, the other horses and their riders had been pelted by dirt and debris, but were otherwise uninjured. As the echoes of the blast died away, they raced to their fallen friends.

His sensors scrambled by the explosion, Triton was in a panic. He tried again and again to rise, but only fell back on Goose's unprotected body. The ranger didn't even twitch at the pounding.

"Triton! Lie still!" Zachary roared. "You're hurting Goose!"

Though half-deafened, the robot horse recognized the voice of command. He stiffened his metal body, lying as still as possible.

"Goose?" he said tremulously.

The blond ranger did not reply. He was unconscious. His labored breathing rasped and bubbled.

Doc crouched beside Goose, running an autodoc across his friend's body. Niko cradled the bloodstained, blond head in her lap. Her gentle fingers detected an ugly soft spot in the mutant ranger's skull.

"Easy, Shane," she murmured, but the man didn't hear her.

"How bad is it?" Zachary asked in a low voice.

"Bad, captain," Doc said grimly. The ranger chewed his lower lip uncertainly. "We've got to get Triton off him," he announced.

"Are you sure?" Zach asked.

The pressure of Triton's body might be the only thing keeping Goose alive. The captain flexed his bionic left arm unconsciously. No one knew better than Zachary Fox that crushing force could preserve life at the same time as it maimed a person for life.

Doc gave Zach a haunted look that the captain understood. No, Doc wasn't certain. He was a computer doctor, not a human doctor; but he was making the best guess he could under the circumstances.

Zachary's real right hand dropped onto Doc's shoulder for a moment.

"All right, Brutus and I will get Triton off."

"He has to come straight off," Doc warned. "Any more sawing back and forth could kill Goose."

"Straight off," Zach confirmed.

"No problem," Brutus said, moving into position directly in front of Triton, but facing away from the fallen horse.

"Need any help?" Mel offered.

"Not enough room," Zach replied.

Zachary took his polyfilament rope and tied it to Brutus' saddle horn, fastened it around Triton's body, then took the free end back to Brutus, fastening it to the saddle. The rope formed a sling around Triton's body.

Zachary crouched beside Triton, sliding his left hand along the horse's back, easing it between Triton and Goose. The captain felt the horse tremble.

"Easy, boy," he said. "We'll get you out of this."

"But Goose…"

"Right now you can help Goose best by getting to your feet," Zach said. "Ready, Brute?"

"Ready, sir."

Zachary touched his badge, channeling the power of his implant into his bionic arm. "Now!"

Brutus leaned forward, taking up the slack gently, then threw his weight against the ropes. Triton rocked forward. Zachary slipped his arm down and prevented the horse from rocking back. Brutus dug his massive hoofs into the rubble-ridden ground and pulled. Zachary planted his bionic left leg, placed his steel-reinforced shoulder under Triton's body and lifted.

The quarter-ton steed moved forward and upward as smoothly as a baby in his mother's arms.

"Put your hind feet down now, Triton," Niko called.

The robot horse felt for purchase gingerly, then planted his feet firmly. Zachary gave a final push as Brutus yanked on the ropes. Triton toppled forward and landed on four feet with a teeth-jarring crash. Zachary dropped to hands and knees, breathing hard for a moment; then rose to unfasten the linked horses.

As the captain returned to his injured ranger, Brutus moved next to Triton, offering a shoulder to lean on. The shaken racing steed needed it.

"Thank you, Brutus," the chastened Triton said.

"Any time," the captain's steed replied.

* * *

><p>"Doc?" Niko asked.<p>

"It's worse than I thought," Doc said soberly. "His chest is crushed. His skull is fractured. Internal injuries …" The ranger shook his head.

"Can we get him back to Beta?" Zach asked.

"We can't even get him back to Ranger One," Doc replied. "If we move him, we'll surely kill him."

Triton moaned.

"He's only got one chance," Doc continued. "We know his biodefenses work after the fact. I just hope they can handle this much damage."

The black ranger pressed his friend's badge, which he couldn't reach when Triton's body had covered Goose. The injured ranger's still form was enveloped in a veil of golden light which seemed to surge and flare like solar prominences.

"I've never seen it do that before," Zach said.

"I hope that means it's working," Niko said.

The rangers had to shield their eyes from the blinding light. Through the glare, they seemed to see Gooseman's body deform and reshape itself, over and over again. Usually just a flash of light, the glow continued far longer than usual. It dwindled with uncharacteristic slowness, and was finally gone.

"Well, Doc?" Zach asked.

"I think it worked," Niko said hopefully. She could no longer feel the soft spot in Goose's skull. Even the scalp laceration was gone, though traces of blood in the blond hair showed Niko where the gash had been.

"Close enough," Doc said with a sigh of relief. "He's still got some cracked ribs and a concussion, but most of the damage has been … repaired." The black ranger was amazed anew at the incredible adaptability of Gooseman's biodefenses and the resiliency of his mutant body.

"Nice operating, Doc," Zachary praised.

"I didn't do anything," the ranger protested. "It was Goose's biodefenses, and it took everything they had, too," Doc continued somberly. "His implant is drained, Zach."

"Can he ride?" Zach asked, new worries crowding in on the heels of the old ones. "That blast will bring those Crown Agents for sure."

"Give me a minute to bandaged his ribs," Doc replied. "Then we can scoot."

Doc opened a compartment in Voyager's side to get a first aid kit.

"Ooh, that tickles!" Voyager giggled.

"Is Goose going to be all right?" Triton asked hesitantly.

"I haven't lost a patient, yet," Doc replied. Of course, he wasn't a medical doctor, either; but he didn't intend to remind Triton of that.

"Are you all right, Triton?" Zachary asked. "Will you be able to carry Goose?"

"Yes, sir. My body was jarred out of alignment, but I'm still functional. You would let me carry Goose, after what happened?"

Zachary patted Triton's soot-smudged neck. "Of course. Goose wouldn't want it any other way. It's not your fault you were knocked over by the explosion."

It was his fault he was so much closer to the blast than the others, Zachary thought. Triton always had to show off. But you could blame Goose, too, for letting his horse get out of hand, or Zachary, because he could have called them back, but hadn't seen the need.

"Triton," Zachary said in his most impressive captain's voice. "I'm counting on you to get Goose safely back to Ranger One."

"Yes, sir!" The robot horse straightened his sagging neck and stiffened his trembling legs. He wasn't going to let Goose down a second time.

"Captain, we have a complication," Mel said. "There's someone alive inside the cabin."

* * *

><p>It seemed like forever, but actually mere minutes had elapsed between the explosion and the time Mel was able to tear his sensors from the immediate drama to scan the area around them.<p>

"In there?" Doc said incredulously.

The ruptured wood frame cabin was leaking smoke from a dozen gaping holes. Its roof was smashed and its front door buried by the landslide that blockaded the canyon. The smoldering building looked thoroughly squashed.

"There is more to the cabin than there seems," Mel replied. "It's just a front for a cavern that goes well back into the side of the mesa."

"You mean it's bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside?" Doc said, winding bandages around Goose's chest even as he spoke.

"Exactly," Mel agreed. "The cabin's wood-frame walls are built around metal panels. Inside, there are blast doors like those on a spaceship. It was one of those blast doors that apparently protected the Pendulant I sense inside."

"Geezy," Zach said. "Can you tell how badly he's hurt?"

"Insufficient data, captain," Mel apologized. "The life signs are strong, but he doesn't appear to be moving. I would guess he is either unconscious or trapped."

Zachary frowned. It made sense that Geezy's cabin was not what it seemed. He was part of the underground on Tortuna, a dangerous place to be anything that did not meet with the Queen's approval. An informant and a trader, Geezy had smuggled Gurkins off Tortuna and Galaxy Rangers into the Psychocrypt. Anyone who lives two lives is bound to be paranoid. It looked like Geezy's paranoia had saved his life — again.

"You two make sure Goose gets back to the ship," the captain ordered. "I'm going after Geezy."

"Not alone you're not," Niko protested.

She eased Goose's head off her lap and stood up.

"Yes, alone," Zach replied firmly. "There's no sense all of us risking our necks and I'm best equipped to get through the debris." He touched his badge without activating it; then began walking toward the ruptured wall of the cabin.

"Niko, I need your help with Goose," Doc said quietly.

Niko was torn between helping two men she cared about. The decision was lifted from her shoulders when Brutus fell into step beside Zachary.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zach asked.

"Wherever you go. It's in my job description," the horse replied stolidly.

"You're not indestructible," Zachary argued.

"Neither are you," Brutus replied in his booming, no-nonsense voice. "At least I'm entirely metal."

"And what do you think you'll be able to accomplish inside? You don't have any hands to rescue a victim."

"True, but I know where the victim is!" Brutus said, his sensors flashing triumphantly.

Zach peered through the gaping rent in the cabin's side. All he could see was smoke.

"Then lead the way," he surrendered.

He twined his fingers in Brutus's white mane. Linked, the two powerful entities entered the inferno.

* * *

><p>Relieved that Zachary had a companion on his dangerous quest, Niko turned to help Doc.<p>

The computer expert had bandaged Goose's chest tightly, so his broken ribs wouldn't shift or grate.

"Help me get him on Triton," Doc said.

They wanted to lift him gently, but that wasn't easy when they had to raise Goose almost to the height of their heads to get him on Triton's slick metal back. To make matters worse, Goose began to wake up and fight the hands that confined him.

Doc thought the whole scene looked like a comedy routine — but it wasn't funny.

* * *

><p>Brutus could have simply walked through the burning rubble, but he steered a zigzag path to keep his human friend out of danger.<p>

Zachary was grateful for his Zangwill disguise. The thick scarf kept some of the smoke out of his lungs while the heavy folds of the calf-length robe protected him from the licking flames.

However, nothing was going to protect him if the creaking, visibly trembling roof collapsed, he thought, eying the sagging timbers warily. The broken-backed beams quivered just a foot above the captain's head, which was about as far as he could see in the dense smoke.

"Which way?" he shouted over the fire's roar.

Brutus paused to double check his sensors, then led the ranger toward the natural cavern at the back of the cabin. Zachary was relieved the moment they stepped into the rocky cavern and out from under the roof.

"In here, sir," Brutus said, nudging a blast door that had been knocked half off its hinges. It sagged, blocking the doorway.

Zachary thumped his badge to power up his bionic arm. Together, he and Brutus muscled the foot-thick, steel door out of the way.

The small room inside was in shambles.

"Geezy!" Zachary shouted.

A groan followed by a cough was his only answer.

The ranger captain located the source of the sounds beneath a heap of furniture. Poking out of the rubble was the woeful tip of a Pendulant's snout, a cross between a pig's nose and an elephant's trunk.

Despite the blast door, the explosion had picked up Geezy and his furniture and thrown them in a corner. Fortunately, the table had come to rest leaning against the wall and a chair. It formed a kind of tent with Geezy beneath it and had protected the Pendulant from most of the debris.

Zach began to remove the furniture from the four-foot-tall Pendulant. First a floppy-tipped ear came into view, then a lock of brown hair in the middle of an otherwise bare, pink forehead. Geezy opened large, dazed lavender eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked, recognizing the ranger beneath his Zangwill disguise. He had been expecting the rangers, after all.

"I'm trying to rescue you," Zachary replied.

Geezy peered around the smoke-filled, blast-damaged room.

"All you hummings are crazy!" he said.

"Humans, Geezy. All us humans are crazy," the captain corrected the alien.

"That's what I said — crazy," Geezy confirmed.

Zachary helped the short, chubby Pendulant to his feet.

"I hope you can find the door again, Brutus," the ranger said.

"Of course, sir, it's …" Brutus' head tilted up. "Look out!" The metal horse shied backwards, forcing Zachary and Geezy away from the door.

* * *

><p>"It's all right, Shane. You're among friends," Niko said.<p>

"Hold still, my Goose-man," Doc protested.

Hearing his friends' reassurances, Goose relaxed. The rangers lay him back on the ground to get themselves sorted out.

"How do you feel?" Niko asked.

"Like a ton of bricks fell on me," Goose said, wincing at the pains in his chest and head.

"More like a quarter ton of horse," Voyager said brightly.

"Voyager!" Niko scolded.

"No, she's right. I fell on you, Goose," Triton said mournfully.

Goose stroked the forelock on Triton's lowered head. "No, I remember what happened. You didn't fall. You were thrown on top of me. It wasn't your fault, buddy."

Triton gave an electronic sigh of relief at Goose's forgiveness.

"This is very pretty," Doc said. "But we've got twenty-seven Crown Agents closing fast and I, for one, don't intend to throw confetti on them when they arrive."

"Then let's get out of here, Doc," Goose said reasonably.

He tried to rise, but Niko and Doc had to help him up; then boost him onto Triton.

"Can't you bend down any farther?" Doc asked the horse.

"I am sorry, but the blast seems to have damaged the joints in my knees," Triton apologized. "I am afraid if I get down, I won't be able to get up, and we do not have Captain Fox and Brutus here to lift me up again."

For the first time, Goose realized the group was missing its leader.

"Where's Zachary?" he asked, clinging to the saddle horn, refusing to mount without an explanation.

"He went after Geezy," Doc said shortly.

Goose looked at the smashed, smoldering cabin incredulously.

"In there?" he asked.

Doc nodded. "In …" With a rumble like distant thunder, the cabin collapsed. "… there," Doc finished faintly.

* * *

><p>Coughing from dust and smoke, Zachary studied the mountain of debris that was now blocking the doorway.<p>

"Geezy, you paranoid Pendulant, I hope you have a back way out," the captain said.

"Ranger humming, that was the back way out," Geezy said mournfully.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued<strong>

_**A/N: I didn't write the song. It's from an episode. **_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Coughing from dust and smoke, Zachary Fox studied the mountain of debris that had fallen to block the doorway.

"Geezy, you paranoid Pendulant, I hope you have a back way out," the captain said.

"Ranger humming, that was the back way out," Geezy said mournfully.

"Why I'm sorry I became a Galaxy Ranger…," Zachary muttered, since he didn't have Doc to do it for him.

"Captain! Captain! Are you all right?" Doc Hartford's voice came frantically over Zach's wristcom. Zachary flipped open the screen and saw Doc's worried face, with a too familiar mesa in the background.

"We're all still here," Zachary replied. "What are you doing out there? I thought I ordered you to get Goose back to Ranger One?"

"We're not going anywhere without you." Goose's spirited reply was somewhat spoiled by the gasp of pain at the end.

The captain was relieved to hear Ranger Shane Gooseman sounding like his normal, aggressive self; but it wouldn't have done to say so at the moment.

"Now you listen to me, Gooseman," he said in his captain's voice. Three human backbones and three robot spines stiffened in programmed response. "I order you to go directly back to Ranger One. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. But, Zach …"

"No buts, mister," Zach said sternly. He allowed his voice to soften. "If Brutus and I can't muscle our way out of here, what can you lightweights do?" he joked. "Now get!"

"Yes, sir!" Doc said formally, telling Zach how upset he was with the whole idea. Doc signed off without another word.

* * *

><p>Doc may have been ready to obey orders, but Goose wasn't. He continued to argue with Doc and Niko. He clung to Triton's saddle horn, preventing Doc and Niko from lifting him aboard the robot horse.<p>

Getting little help from the female ranger, Doc tried logic and persuasion, but was unable to move the stubborn Supertrooper.

"There are twenty-seven Crown Agents on their way here right now. We have to get out of here," Doc said.

"Twenty-seven … we've taken on worse odds than that," Goose answered scornfully.

Strung tight between duty and worry about Zachary and Goose, Doc finally lost his temper.

"Worse odds! You couldn't take on a troop of Girl Scouts right now," the black ranger scoffed. "You've got no biodefenses. You can hardly stand up by yourself and your hands are shaking so much you'd probably shoot yourself in the foot trying to aim! If we get into a fire fight, you'll just get Niko and me killed trying to protect you!"

"Doc!" Niko caught his arm. Doc shook her off.

"You know it's true, Niko," he said. "If our invincible Supertrooper will use his mutant brain for a minute, he'll know it's true, too!"

Doc glared at his blond friend. Goose stared back, too startled to get angry. For all the deadly, dangerous situations they'd been in together, he couldn't remember ever seeing Doc so furious. Better than any words, it told Goose how badly injured he had been and how worried Doc was for him and Zachary.

Goose smiled surrender at Doc.

"All right, Doc, don't bite my head off." He started to climb aboard Triton, and winced at the pain caused by his sudden movement. "On second thought, bite it off. It would hurt less. Help me up here, would you?"

Doc and Niko boosted the mutant ranger to Triton's saddle. Goose sagged over the saddle horn, made dizzy by even that small exertion. He knew Doc had been right.

Doc and Niko supported him until he could sit up on his own.

"OK, guys," he announced. "Let's get out of here." He looked back at the smoldering cabin. "Good luck, captain," he said under his breath.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Geezy. Think!" Zachary coughed. "We have to find a way out."<p>

"Zachary Fox, that was the only way out of this room," the Pendulant replied between coughs. "The other walls are surrounded by solid rock!"

"I disagree," Brutus said. The robot's deep, ponderous voice was unaffected by the smoke that hindered the others' breathing.

"There is a crevice behind that wall." The metal horse indicated the direction with a nod of his head. "My sensors indicate the crevice reaches clear to the top of the mesa."

"Air!" Geezy said hopefully.

"Where's the crevice, Brutus?" Zachary asked.

Brutus charged the wall and struck head first, like a battering ram. The steel-reinforced wall dented.

"There," the horse replied, backing up for a second run.

Zachary pressed his badge. A golden glow flowed down his bionic arm. His sleeve and artificial skin went transparent, showing the stark black and yellow circuit designs beneath.

Geezy looked alarmed.

"Don't!" he cried.

He gasped in a lungful of smoke. Coughing and sputtering he managed to choke out a warning. The walls were made of blast metal, designed to reflect energy and explosions. If Zachary fired his thunderbolt, he'd bring the roof down on them.

"I know that, Geezy," Zachary said patiently.

He didn't attempt to fire a thunderbolt. Using his enhanced bionic strength, Zachary began to punch at the dent Brutus made. The horse joined him, slamming his steel hind hooves into the buckling wall plate.

The smoldering fire was stealing the oxygen from the air. Zachary's head pounded. He began to see streaks of light before his eyes.

"There, sir, a crack!" Brutus announced.

Zachary shook his spinning head. The streak of light wasn't an optical illusion. It was a crack in the wall. The rangers' pounding had caused the plate to spring free of its neighbor.

Zachary placed his bionic hand next to the edge of the plate. Brutus placed his forehead flat against the plate, next to Zachary's hand. The rangers dug their feet into the ground and pushed with all the metallic might of their manufactured muscles.

Zachary threw every ounce of strength into his effort. His vision went scarlet, then gray.

With a crack like a pistol shot, the overstressed wall plate snapped in half. Zachary staggered forward to crash against the red rock wall outside.

* * *

><p>Doc swung himself onto Voyager's blue-steel back and looked down at Niko, who hovered uncertainly by Mel's side.<p>

"Are you coming?" the black ranger asked.

His voice was mild, but his brown eyes were hard.

"I'll take the point," the girl announced.

If she had to leave Zachary, she was going to do it as quickly as possible. Besides, Mel had the best sensors.

Niko vaulted aboard Mel, her long hair soaring behind her. Before she even touched the reins, Mel had swung around to face the trail. He didn't need directions. With a landslide blocking the canyon ahead, there was only one way out — back the way they'd come in.

"Stay behind Mel, Triton," Doc ordered.

Like his rider, Goose's silvery steed had been damaged in the explosion. Triton usually prided himself on his speed and agility. Now he had to accept the role of slow-footed cripple. He did so without comment, humbled by his crashing fall which had injured Goose.

The blond ranger clutched the saddle horn with both hands, showing nothing of his usual grace in the saddle. His ears rang; his head pounded and he had to grit his teeth against the stabbing pains from his broken ribs. Goose had been crushed when Triton's quarter-ton weight crashed down on him. Only his biodefenses could have repaired the fatal damage. And their power had run dry before the damage was entirely reversed.

Goose didn't like being nursemaided any more than Triton did, but he didn't argue.

Doc stopped him before he could ride off.

"Goose, I'm sorry about yelling," Doc said.

The black ranger was embarrassed at losing control of his temper.

"I understand, Doc," the mutant ranger replied. "You were right. Triton and I aren't fit for duty right now. I shouldn't have been arguing. But I still don't like leaving Zachary."

"Neither do I, Goose-man," the black ranger replied. "Neither do I."

Triton set off after Mel while Doc brought up the rear on an uncharacteristically subdued Voyager. The robot steed was a couple of circuits short of a microchip, but her metal heart was in the right place.

Doc pulled Voyager's head around to follow Triton, but the metal steed balked.

"Abandoning your friends is not in the Galaxy Ranger's handbook, Wilbur," she protested.

"But following the captain's orders is," Doc told her. "Now get after the others. And don't call me Wilbur."

Voyager followed the others, head drooping in dismay. Doc knew exactly how she felt.

* * *

><p>Zachary gasped for air, on the red edge of passing out from exertion and lack of oxygen. The captain heard Brutus' heavy tread retreat back into the building. Zachary rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his blurry vision.<p>

"Geezy, you must get up," Brutus said urgently. "I cannot lift you. I cannot carry you to safety. Geezy, wake up!"

Zachary blinked away the fog. Peering through the smoke, he could see Brutus standing over the unconscious Pendulant. The horse nudged Geezy with his muzzle, but got no response.

"There are times I wish I had hands, or even teeth," the robot complained.

Zachary forced himself erect and plunged back into the room he'd just escaped, losing his hat in the process.

The rush of oxygen from the hole in the wall had revived the smoldering fires. Flames leaped all around the unconscious Pendulant. Brutus trampled down the fires that broke out near Geezy. Half-blinded by the smoke, Zachary stumbled through the rubble. He caught up Geezy in his right arm, leaving his impervious bionic arm to clear a path through the flaming, falling debris.

A row of jars on a counter exploded from the heat. Hot oil and shards of ceramic flew at Zachary. He cried out as the hot oil splashed his face, then again as the oil set his Zangwill disguise on fire. He dropped Geezy and tore off the enveloping robes, then grabbed up Geezy again. The smoke had grown so heavy, Zachary could hardly see the Pendulant at his feet.

Zachary felt Brutus' bulk loom beside him. The ranger captain groped for the robot's mane and grasped it firmly.

"Get us out of here, Brute," he ordered.

Brutus led Zachary toward the exit. It was only a few steps, but obstacles and spot fires made it seem like a mile. Finally they emerged into the air.

Zachary staggered a safe distance from the burning building, then set Geezy down gently. He fumbled with the compartments in Brutus' side and pulled out the first aid kit. He fastened an oxygen mask over Geezy's mouth, an awkward business considering the Pendulant's elephantine nose; then he used a clip to pinch the alien's nostrils closed.

That done, Zachary rinsed out his eyes and washed off his stinging face. Needing a mirror, he used his sleeve to polish a clean spot in Brutus' scorched and sooty side. The captain studied his face in the golden metal.

He breathed a sigh of relief. There were several red patches and a couple of cuts, but no second degree burns. He'd been lucky.

Reassured about his own condition, he turned his attention back to Geezy. The alien had pulled off the nose clip and was sitting up, making small wheezing and honking noises signifying Pendulant disbelief.

"We're alive!"

"Thanks to Brutus," Zachary said, as he smeared burn cream on his face.

Brutus held his head proudly at the compliment. The usually shining steed was in as sorry a state as the men. His chassis was stained with smoke and dirt. His neck bore five small, deep dents where Zachary's bionic hand had held on for dear life.

Brutus wasn't worried about the damage. It was all superficial. His tail and mane had been melted off, but they only served a cosmetic function anyway. His plastic face plate had cracked from the heat, but the components inside were undamaged.

The robot horse assessed his condition, then reported, "I have looked better, but I am still functioning, sir."

"Ditto," said Zachary. His eyes were red. His face was battered. His voice was hoarse and the knuckles on his bionic hand had lost their artificial skin. He still felt a little lightheaded from the smoke, but otherwise, he was uninjured.

"Looks like I lost our communications, though," he said.

His communicator was missing from his left wrist. He decided he probably lost it when he tore off the Zangwill outfit. At least he still had the Zangwill hat to protect his head from the glaring sun.

"How are you feeling, Geezy?" the captain asked.

"I thought I was dead," the Pendulant replied. "This is an improvement."

"We still have to get out of here," Zachary reminded him. "And there are twenty-seven Crown Agents out there looking for your hide."

The Pendulant's face fell. "Maybe this isn't an improvement, ranger humming."

"Human, Geezy," Zachary corrected, as he looked around the pocket in the mesa where they found themselves.

Geezy gave a musical snort of indifference.

From their new vantage point, the mesa appeared to have been cracked in half by some ancient catastrophe. Fault lines fractured the area, making it look like a bunch of children's blocks which had been discarded haphazardly.

"It almost looks like a staircase," Zachary said.

Geezy squinted at the jumble, then stared at Zachary.

"A staircase for a crazy person," he objected.

"You keep saying we're crazy," Zachary replied.

He pointed from block to block all the way to the top of the mesa. It wasn't a straight path by any means, but it would get them out of their hole.

"I think I can make it, captain," Brutus said, after judging the heights and distances involved.

Zachary helped Geezy scramble aboard the robot horse. The ranger lengthened the saddle section to make riding double easier, then mounted behind the Pendulant.

Brutus backed up until the heat of the fire singed the remains of his tail, then charged forward. He gave a mighty bound to the first block, cornered quickly to crowhop to the next platform then stretched himself to reach the third. He circled the third platform to gain momentum, then gathered his steel hindquarters for a prodigious leap to the tiny fourth level. Front feet touched down; back feet planted right behind them. Brutus kicked off in a rearing jump almost straight up. As Zachary and Geezy held on for dear life, Brutus caught the rim of the fifth block with his front feet and scrambled the rest of the way up by brute force and sheer stubbornness. It wasn't elegant, but it worked.

Zachary wiped his brow, remembering a similar close call on Ozark, when the other rangers had saved them. We're in this one alone, he thought, and there's still one obstacle to cross.

From the fifth block, a curving slope ran up to the mesa top. It looked like an easy gallop for Brutus, except for the gaping chasm that split it in two, a chasm that had been invisible from the ground.

There was no room on the fifth platform for Brutus to get a running start. Even with a running start, Zachary wasn't sure his 3000-series horse could manage the distance.

"I'm sorry, sir. Perhaps Voyager or Triton could make that jump, but I can't," Brutus said.

Zachary patted the horse's neck.

"Voyager or Triton couldn't have gotten us out of that steel firetrap," he said. "Let's see if I can make you a bridge."

Zachary touched his badge, then aimed his glowing arm at a fault line in the cliff which overhung the chasm. He fired.

* * *

><p>The blast echoed through the canyons, causing the three rangers and their horses to jerk up their heads. The sound continued in a pulsing rhythm for a moment, then was drowned out by a crack like a giant redwood snapping in half and a crashing roar like an avalanche. From where they were, they couldn't see the cause of the alarming noises noises.<p>

"That first blast sounded like the captain's thunderbolt," Mel said, putting into words what they had all been thinking.

Niko opened her communicator and called Zachary, but all she got was static in reply.

Doc felt sick, but gamely said, "That doesn't mean anything. Maybe he's just too busy to chat. Keep going."

Niko stiffened her jaw and her back and nudged Mel forward.

Triton's explosion-loosened joints had retarded their progress. After several minutes of travel, the rangers had only just reached the slope where they had entered the maze of canyons. Once up that slope, they would be on the badlands, a broad, flat, expanse of desert which contained their spaceship, among other things, most of them dangerous.

* * *

><p>Mel was about to ascend the slope when a shot sang past Doc's ear.<p>

Doc and Niko whipped out their blasters and looked for their ambusher.

He waved from the top of the mesa.

"Zachary!" Niko breathed. The smile of relief that lit up her face was matched by Doc and Goose.

* * *

><p>To cross the chasm, the captain had used his thunderbolt with pinpoint precision, firing a continuous blast which cut loose a slab of granite along the fault line. The rock cracked loose and fell, bridging the gap. When he was sure the rock would hold, Brutus flew across it at top speed and mounted the slope to the mesa top.<p>

Zachary scouted around the mesa looking for a way down. Instead, he saw his friends — with the troop of Crown Agents headed straight toward them!

He fired his blaster to get the rangers' attention and signaled them about the approaching danger.

The three rangers looked at each other.

"Now what do we do? " Goose asked. "If we go out onto the badlands, we'll be sitting ducks. There's no cover. They'll be sure to see us."

"They might see us, but they won't see you. Not if we give them something better to look at, hmm, Niko?"

The woman nodded. "I know just the thing, Doc."

She pulled off her Zangwill disguise, keeping only the brown hat as protection from the sun. Her white Galaxy Ranger uniform stood out like a lighthouse beacon.

"A very tempting target," Doc complimented, as he doffed his disguise also.

"But …"

A quelling look from both his friends stilled Goose's protest. Their orders were to make sure he got back to Ranger One safely. They were going to play decoy to buy him time to escape. Nothing he could say would change that. The ex-Supertrooper's green eyes glittered. The only way to pay them back was to get to Ranger One as fast as he could, so he could come back and blast the hell out of those Crown Agents.

"Come on, Triton. We're going," he announced, pointing the horse's head upslope. "I'll be back, guys — with air support," he promised his friends.

Doc nodded approval. "We'll have to start this party without you, but we'll save you the last dance. Just don't take all day to get back," he warned. "Or there might not be anything but leftovers when you get here."

Goose urged Triton up the slope, as his two friends prepared to ambush twenty-seven Crown Agents.

* * *

><p>From his perch on the mesa, Zachary observed the rangers' preparations and divined their plan.<p>

"Crazy kids," he murmured.

Geezy crawled to the edge and peeked over. "What's going on?"

Zachary was saved an explanation when Niko and Doc launched their attack.

* * *

><p>"Captain, how much longer are we going to keep riding in circles?" asked the Slaver Lord in the venomous voice of the Queen of the Crown. The Queen's image appeared, superimposed on the white, hooded figure of the Slaver Lord.<p>

Animated by the energy of the Queen's psychocrystals, Slaver Lords were little more than projections of the Queen's personality. Through them, she could be everywhere at virtually the same time.

The Crown Captain frankly wished she had chosen somewhere else to be. Her constant carping was giving him an ache in his auditory circuits. Of course, to say so would mean instant obliteration.

"I beg your pardon, my queen," he said humbly. "These walls interfere with our sensors and all these canyons look alike. I think we have found the right trail, now. The smoke from our explosion lies dead ahead."

The Queen pointed out that the smoke had been dead ahead, but on the other side of a box canyon, twice already that day.

The Captain forbore to point out that they'd had a perfectly good homing beacon, until the Queen prematurely detonated its accompanying bomb.

"Yes, my queen," the android replied woodenly, just before he collapsed, a neat hole blasted through his robotic skull.

"Galaxy Rangers, Ho!" Niko and Doc shouted, hoping the echoes made two sound like a dozen.

Mel and Voyager charged from cover, cutting across the Crown Agents' path while Niko and Doc fired as rapidly as possible. Shooting from the back of a galloping horse is not conducive to accuracy. Blasts ruffled the robe of the Slaver Lord, but missed the all important psychocrystal.

"Galaxy Rangers!" the Queen exclaimed.

"I wonder if they're lost, too," muttered the Crown Lieutenant, now Acting Captain.

"Get after them, you fools!" the Queen ordered.

* * *

><p>"Two against twenty-seven is impossible odds, even for your brave ranger hummings," Geezy said sympathetically.<p>

"That's why I'm going to lend them a hand," the captain replied, as he touched his badge and rose to his feet.

"But then they'll know we're here!" the Pendulant wailed.

"That's the idea," Zachary replied.

The movement of Zachary's glowing arm caught the Slaver Lord's attention. It looked up. The eyes of the Queen's image observed a nasty smile on the ranger captain's face.

"Zachary Fox!" she exclaimed, as the ranger fired.

There was no finesse in this thunderbolt. It pulverized the psychocrystal, dispersed the ephemeral Slaver Lord, disintegrated its Death Steed and blasted a four-foot crater in the ground. Halfway across the planet in Tortuna, the psychic backlash knocked the Queen of the Crown unconscious.

Two nearby Crown Agents and their Death Steeds were blown apart by the ranger's blast. Four other agents were unhorsed by their wildly bucking steeds. One of the androids landed badly, twisting its neck until the robotic head was on backwards. It lay motionless as its Death Steed fled in a panic.

"Five down," Zachary murmured. "Twenty-two to go."

From his vantage point, well out of the Crown Agents' blaster range, Zachary could see Goose and Triton heading doggedly south while Doc and Niko disappeared into the maze of canyons. The ranger captain watched with satisfaction as the Crown Agents milled around in shock. Every second they delayed, meant more of a head start for his rangers.

At the Crown Lieutenant's shouted orders, Crown Agents caught three of the loose Death Steeds. The unhorsed riders began to mount.

The Lieutenant was personally glad that the Slaver Lord would not be looking over his shoulder. Professionally, however, he was appalled by an attack on the Queen while he was in command. Crown Agents who permitted the Queen to be attacked had the projected lifespan of an icicle in hell.

He looked for the assassin and saw him surveying the scene from the mesa.

* * *

><p>"I never got a chance to ask, Geezy. Why are these guys after you this time? And why did you call us?" Zachary inquired.<p>

Geezy gave a musical sigh. "It doesn't matter now," he said. "I wanted you to help me distribute the arms I had collected for the Tortuna Underground."

"You didn't need us for that," Zachary commented, as he saw the Crown Lieutenant look up at him.

"There was another thing," Geezy continued. "I thought you'd want to know that the Queen has upgraded her Death Steeds."

"They look the same to me," Zachary said. "What have they changed?"

The horns of the Lieutenant's Death Steed tilted upward at Zachary. The captain instinctively jumped backwards just before a laser blast vaporized the edge of the cliff.

"Never mind," he told Geezy. "I think I just found out for myself."

The ranger captain peered over the cliff with more caution.

The Crown Lieutenant had given up on an easy kill. He sent half the troop after Doc and Niko. "The rest of you come with me," he shouted. He was going after the ranger captain personally. "There's a trail to the top of that mesa back this way."

His command carried to the top of the mesa. Zachary vaulted onto Brutus' back. "Come on, Geezy!" he said, urging the horse forward. "We've got to beat them to that trail."

Geezy gave a small trumpet of distress and chased after Brutus. His chubby legs were faster than they looked, when the Pendulant was properly motivated. Zachary leaned down, caught Geezy's outstretched hands and hoisted the Pendulant to the front of the saddle. Two steps later, Brutus was at full stride.

He tore across the mesa and raced down the trail at breakneck speed. Geezy clung to the saddle horn with one hand. He hid his eyes with the other, but spoiled the effect by peeking through his fingers. He was sorry he had, when he saw the Crown Agents ascending the trail directly in their path.

"Hang on," Brutus ordered.

The big horse swerved and leaped off the ledge two stories above the distant ground.

* * *

><p>The Crown Agents didn't have much problem catching up to Doc and Niko. The rangers wanted to be found.<p>

"What's keeping them?" Doc complained to the girl, as they held the horses back to a canter. "Don't they know enough to follow a decoy?"

He was worried they might have spotted Goose. He was actually pleased when ten Crown Agents thundered around a corner and began firing at them.

"That's a relief!" he commented, as he booted Voyager.

"Stay together, Doc!" Niko shouted.

Mel hurtled into the lead, his sensors probing ahead as best they could. Voyager raced at the copper horse's tail.

Doc turned to fire at the riders behind, and was shocked when the Death Steeds fired back.

"Oh, great, now the horses are shooting at me!" he yelled.

"I thought animals liked you, Doc," Niko shouted back. Coolly she turned in the saddle to fire at the pack behind them. Her target fell from his steed and was trampled into spare parts.

The closest Death Steed fired again. Doc winced as he saw the laser blast shoot past, too close for comfort.

"This one would apparently like me barbecued!" the black ranger replied. He took careful aim, decided that wasn't enough to compensate for Voyager's bouncing, and fired three times in quick succession. One shot singed the ground in front of the Death Steed's feet; one blew its foreleg apart and one tore through the chest. Even as it was falling, the Death Steed exploded, throwing its robot rider high into the air in several pieces. The horse and rider next to it were thrown into the canyon wall, gouging a three-foot-long furrow before crashing to the ground.

"Nice shooting!" Voyager complimented, as she regarded the carnage behind her, while still running at full gallop.

"Thanks … Voyager!" Doc looked forward and was shocked. Niko and Mel were gone.

"Oopsie," Voyager said, as she returned her attention to the front.

Doc looked back and saw half of the remaining pursuers continue after him while the other four cut into a side passage.

Sure, they were paying attention when Mel made his turn, the ranger thought sourly.

"Voyager! You were supposed to be watching Mel!"

"I'm just the horse! You're the driver!" she protested.

* * *

><p>The powerful springs in Brutus' legs absorbed the tremendous shock of the two-story plunge, but not before the horse's golden belly scraped the rocky ground. Zachary had to hold his stirrups wide to keep from breaking his ankles.<p>

While the Crown Agents retraced their path, Brutus stood up unsteadily.

"You all right, Brute?" Zachary asked in concern.

"Yes sir," the horse replied tentatively. "My circuits were momentarily shaken," he added with more assurance. He walked forward a couple of paces, moved into a canter, then began working his way up to a full-bore run.

Geezy peered backwards under Zachary's arm.

"They're right behind us!"

"They're gaining on us," Brutus announced. "The Death Steeds are faster than I am."

Laser fire began to scorch the rock around them. One shot, at the extreme limit of its range, tickled Brutus' metal rump.

"There's a side canyon up ahead," Zachary shouted. "Maybe we can lose them."

Brutus made a wrenching turn into the shelter of the side canyon; then came to a rump-scraping halt. It was a box canyon.

"Dead end," Zachary said.

"I wish you hadn't said that," Geezy moaned, as he heard Death Steeds thundering closer.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued …<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

_When I ran this in my apa, there were two months between chapters, hence the recap at the start of this chapter._

**The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers:**

**And the Horse You Rode In On**

**Part 3**

Galaxy Ranger Captain Zachary Fox and Geezy, the Pendulant smuggler and freedom fighter, clung to the galloping robot horse as Brutus ran for all their lives. The three were pursued by eleven Crown Agents mounted on Death Steeds, and the Death Steeds were gaining.

Laser fire began to scorch the rock around them. One shot, at the extreme limit of its range, tickled Brutus' golden metal rump.

"There's a side canyon up ahead," Zachary shouted. "Maybe we can lose them."

Brutus made a wrenching turn and galloped into the shelter of the side canyon; then came to a rump-scraping halt. It was a box canyon.

"Dead end," Zachary said.

"I wish you hadn't said that," Geezy moaned.

Zachary decided it just wasn't his day. First Geezy's hideout on the outlaw planet Tortuna had exploded as Zachary and his three rangers approached. Galaxy Ranger Shane Gooseman had been nearly fatally injured. It had drained his biodefenses to save him.

Then Zachary and Brutus had entered Geezy's burning hideout to rescue the Pendulant. They got him out, but were cut off from the rest of the rangers.

Then a full troop of Crown Agents showed up as rangers Niko and Walter "Doc" Hartford escorted Goose and his damaged robot horse Triton to the safety of their spaceship. The other two rangers played decoy to give Goose a chance to escape. From the top of a mesa, Zachary had stirred the pot with a thunderbolt, and drew half the pursuers away from Doc and Niko.

But the ore-veined walls of this jumble of canyons and mesas fooled Brutus' sensors, leaving them trapped in a box canyon.

It definitely wasn't his day.

"You'll have to climb the walls," Brutus said. He gestured with his head. "Look, sir, if you stand on my back, you can reach that ledge, then climb to the top. I will buy you all the time I can."

"You can't beat a dozen Crown Agents and their Death Steeds," Zachary said, as he lifted Geezy to the ledge.

"I know, sir. Don't worry about me. When humans die, they are gone forever. I can always be reprogrammed," the horse said. Triton was not the only horse who loved his rider.

"It's not the same," Zachary protested. Because they had emotions, AI programs were more than the sum of their programming. Even the archival copy of Brutus' personality would be different.

"Please, sir, there's no time to argue," he used his knowledge of Zachary to present the most telling argument. "Think of your children, sir," Brutus said.

Zachary stood on Brutus' back and climbed to the ledge above.

"Good luck, Brute," the captain said in a husky voice.

"Remember me, captain," the horse said, as he reared, then charged toward the entrance of the box canyon.

He met the troop of Crown Agents just as they entered. With an electronic scream of rage, Brutus attacked the lighter weight robot mounts and their android riders. He pounded with his heavy fore hooves and kicked with his heels. Brutus cleverly got into the middle of the enemy troop, keeping the nervous Death Steeds stirred up and preventing the Crown Agents from getting a clear shot at him.

Above the wild electromechanical melee, Zachary climbed, jaw set in grim determination. He helped Geezy over the places where handholds were far apart.

Zachary did not look down until he and Geezy had reached the top.

The battle was almost over by then. The outcome had never been in doubt. Unable to get a shot at Brutus, the Crown Lieutenant had urged his Death Steed to the attack. The others had followed. Their combined weight eventually drove Brutus to the ground where he was kicked and pummeled by the hooves of six robot mounts. His body was broken into bits and hammered flat before the riders regained control of their steeds.

Brutus' legacy was five Death Steeds and two Crown Agents damaged too badly to continue. One of those Crown Agents had been crushed beyond recognition.

Zachary watched as a dismounted Crown Agent petulantly kicked the remains of Brutus' head across the box canyon. In response, the ranger tapped his badge, picked up a rock the size of a basketball and hurled it at the robot. It knocked the robot's head clear off, perched momentarily as a bizarre replacement for the head, then fell to the ground as the android body collapsed.

At the extreme range of each others' blasters, Zachary and the Crown Lieutenant glared at each other for a long moment; then Zachary deliberately turned away.

"They'll be climbing up here soon, ranger humming," Geezy ventured.

"I know. Look around and see if you can find a way off this rock."

They found they had reached the top of yet another mesa, which was notched by the box canyon. Higher than most of the others, this tower offered a clear view of the surrounding maze of canyons and mesas, though he couldn't see to the bottom of all the canyons. He couldn't see Doc or Niko, though he got a general fix on their location from the dust they and their pursuers were kicking up.

There seemed to be about eight mesas in the area, some separated by canyons wide enough for a troop of horsemen, some separated by mere feet. There were quite substantial canyons separating their perch any of the surrounding territory.

Zachary eyed one of the canyons with interest. It was slightly narrower than the others, and the ground on the other side was several feet below their current position.

"Stay here, Geezy," Zachary told his companion.

He went back to the box canyon where they had ascended and found the seven remaining Crown Agents following in his and Geezy's handholds. Zachary smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

He collected a few large rocks.

"This is for you, Brute," he murmured, as he aimed his first rock at the climbers. He tried to knock the Lieutenant from his perch, but a projecting rock diverted the missile. It smashed a different Agent's arm and sent him crashing to the bottom of the canyon. Zachary damaged two more, including the Lieutenant, before the Crown Agents managed to get to climbing areas protected by overhanging ledges.

Having cut down the odds somewhat, Zachary trotted back to Geezy. He hoisted the Pendulant up piggyback.

"What are you doing?" Geezy demanded.

"We're going to jump this canyon," Zachary said.

"I know you hummings are crazy, but do you have to keep proving it?" Geezy demanded. "Your horse would have a hard time jumping that!"

"Geezy, I have a bionic leg as well as a bionic arm," Zachary said. "If you hold very still, I can jump this. By the time the Crown Agents get to the top here, search it, then climb down again, we'll be long gone. And they won't know which way we went."

"I will go straight to heaven. I've been a good little Pendulant," Geezy announced.

"Led astray by evil companions. I know," Zachary said. "If you don't want to come with me, you can stay here and wait for the Crown Agents," he offered.

Geezy gave a musically negative snort. "No thank you. The Queen does not approve of people who consort with Galaxy Rangers. She has many fiendish ways of showing her displeasure. I would rather plunge to a quick, clean death."

"Then let's take the plunge," Zachary said. He thumped his badge and focused the power into his left leg. He could feel the flow was weaker than it had been. He was using up the charge on his implant. He hoped there was enough left.

Zachary charged forward and, at the edge of the cliff, pushed off with all the power of his left leg. The linked pair flew across the chasm, arcing up, then dropping down. Too low, Zachary thought, we aren't going to make it.

As he hurtled through the air, Zachary willed the remainder of his charge into his left arm and grabbed. He hit the lower mesa chest first. His legs dangling in the chasm, Zachary dug his bionic fingers into the ground and tried to pull himself up.

Wheezing in alarm, Geezy crawled up Zachary to safety, then grabbed Zachary's right wrist and threw all his weight backwards. It was just the impetus the ranger needed to drag himself to safety.

"Thanks, Geezy. That was too much of a cliffhanger for my taste," the captain said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Let's find a way off this rock."

* * *

><p>Galaxy Ranger Niko and her pale copper horse Mel fled at full speed ahead of four Crown Agents mounted on laser-firing Death Steeds. Mel's unexpected turn into a side passage had given the ranger duo a good lead, beyond the range of the enemies' lasers.<p>

"Did we lose them?" the robot horse asked. He was concentrating all his sensors forward to pick out the best route.

Niko glanced backwards, widened her eyes, then sighed.

"No, but we lost Doc and Voyager," she said.

"Oh dear," Mel said.

"On the bright side, there are only four Crown Agents chasing us now," Niko said. "I have an idea, if you can find the right spot."

She explained her notion to the galloping horse.

"Sounds good," Mel said.

For a time, it seemed Niko's idea would go to waste. Mel could find no location that fit her requirements. finally his straining sensors picked up a favorable region.

Mel swerved into an area of tight twists and turns which caused the rangers to appear and disappear, as if they were playing peek-a-boo with the Crown Agents. Exactly the effect Niko was looking for.

In a tightly packed bunch, the Crown agents swept around a corner into a short straightaway, but their quarry had vanished.

"They must be just around that turn," an Agent shouted.

They were. They were waiting.

As the posse charged around the corner, they ran headlong into the psychic shield that barricaded the narrow canyon. They hit the golden glow at full tilt, with a crunch of metal and a smash of glass like a four-car pile-up.

The four Death Steeds hit the shield at virtually the same time. The impact overloaded Niko's implant, sending an implosion of psychic energy deep into her brain. The ranger collapsed, crashing down on a jagged rock which tore her forearm. That pain hardly registered next to the spikes of agony in her mind.

Stunned, but not unconscious, Niko saw two of the Crown Agents untangle themselves from the wreckage. They stood up, surveyed the damage, then pulled their weapons and advanced on Niko.

* * *

><p>Wanting to get out of the sight of the Queen's troops as quickly as possible, silvery Triton tried to run at his usual pace across the desert. All he could manager was a rough trot which jarred his explosion-loosened chassis and made his injured rider grit his teeth in pain.<p>

Galaxy Ranger Shane Gooseman realized starkly that Doc Hartford had been right. The injured ranger would have slowed down his friends and probably gotten them killed.

With his protective, adaptable biodefenses, he wasn't used to being hurt. He wasn't used to being a handicap in a battle. It was a humbling, depressing experience, but Goose wasn't built to surrender easily. He was bioengineered to be a warrior.

He clenched his teeth against the sharp, shooting pains that stabbed at his broken ribs. He tried to ignore the fierce headache that made him feel dizzy and weak.

Though Goose didn't say anything, Triton felt his rider sway. The horse slowed to a fast walk which was much less jarring for Goose.

"I'm sorry, Goose. I couldn't maintain that speed. My joints are too weak. I feel decrepit," the robot steed said tactfully but truthfully.

"I know what you mean, pal," the ranger gasped, drooping over the saddle horn. His light-skinned face was almost as pale as his blond hair. "Take it slow and steady. We'll get there in one piece that way."

Feeling as pokey as he'd always accused Brutus of being, Triton stretched out his walk to cover as much ground as quickly as possible without bouncing too much.

The easier ride allowed Goose to regain his breath and his composure. He sat up as straight as his cracked ribs would allow and began to look more like his usual self.

The Tortuna badlands were featureless and boring. Their slow pace made time seem to drag.

"Goose," Triton said suddenly, startling his rider out of a half-doze. When he thought about it later, Goose couldn't believe he'd almost fallen asleep on Tortuna.

"What's wrong, Triton?" the ranger asked.

"I sense three creatures to the east, paralleling our course," the horse said.

"I see them," Goose said grimly.

The three shargets seemed to shamble along, but were actually making a faster pace than Triton. The carnivores looked like furry versions of Godzilla, with big heads and multiple rows of small, sharp teeth. They didn't usually run in packs. This must be a mother with nearly grown cubs, which was not a good omen. Adolescent shargets grew so fast they were always half-starved. They would never give up a trail until they or their prey was dead.

Goose hoped that they had already fed or that they wouldn't consider the ranger and the metal horse worthwhile prey.

"They're changing course to intercept us," Triton announced.

So much for that hope, Goose thought.

"It just isn't our day, Triton," the ranger said, as he turned awkwardly in the saddle to face the predators.

* * *

><p>The Crown Agents stood over the fallen female ranger.<p>

"The Queen wants them alive," one Agent reminded the other.

"They're too dangerous," the other replied. To Niko he said, "Good-bye, Galaxy Ranger."

He raised his weapon.

"Did you gentlemen forget about me?" asked a deep voice from the shadow of a nearby boulder.

The pale copper horse reared out of the darkness, hooves flailing. He had been ordered to stay in hiding as Niko's backup. Once he was sure no other Crown Agents had survived, he took action to save his rider.

With an electronic squeal that was painful to the Crown Agent's sensors, Mel attacked. His powerful metal hooves crushed one android's head and sent him spinning into the junk heap he'd only just left.

The other Agent dodged inside hoof range, thinking himself safe. Mel's head struck like a pile driver, smashing the android's chest. Sparks flew and wiring sizzled. The Crown Agent staggered backwards, squeezing the trigger by reflex even as he collapsed.

His shot hit Mel full in the face, shattering the plexiglass faceplate and frying the sensor array inside. The horse froze in mid-stride.

"Mel?" Niko said weakly.

Her steed did not reply. The ranger tried to rise to help her friend, but darkness overwhelmed her. This has not been a good day, was the last thought she carried into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>It wasn't hard for Voyager to lose her four pursuers, because she was totally lost herself.<p>

Galaxy Ranger Walter "Doc" Hartford allowed his unpredictable steed to choose her own course, which she did at breakneck whim. A rapid-fire series of random turns put Doc and Voyager into the clear.

Then the steel steed stood as still as a statue until the last of the enemies' hoof beats had faded into the distance — into the distance in more than one direction, if Doc's hearing wasn't mistaken.

"Nice job, Voyager," the ranger complimented his metallic blue horse, as they started on at a quiet walk. Since neither had a better idea, they stuck with Voyager's random meandering. It had paid off once, maybe it would pay off again.

"Thank you, Wilbur," Voyager replied modestly.

Doc rolled his eyes. "Stop calling me Wilbur," he ordered, though he knew it would do no good.

"Anything you say, Wilbur," Voyager said brightly.

Doc sighed.

It was bad enough being called Wally. At least Wally was a recognized diminutive for Walter. He didn't know where Voyager picked up Wilbur.

"If you can't call me 'Doc,' couldn't you at least call me 'hey you'," he sighed.

Before Voyager could respond, she made a random turn into a box canyon — a box canyon that was littered with metal.

"Ewww, ick," Voyager said, backing away nervously. To the robot's eyes, the battlefield looked like, well, a battlefield, with crushed and dismembered bodies everywhere. Two damaged Death Steeds still moved feebly.

Doc dismounted, drew his gun and put them out of their robotic misery; then he began to poke through the rubble, trying to analyze what had happened.

"Can't we leave? There's lubricant everywhere!" Voyager moaned.

"Not yet, Voyager," Doc answered.

He counted downed Crown Agents and the Death Steeds, but there were other metal parts scattered around as well.

"I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach," Voyager muttered.

"You don't have a stomach," Doc sighed.

The black ranger stooped and picked up a broken scrap of golden metal. Voyager shuffled uncomfortably and accidentally kicked something. Battered but still recognizable, Brutus' head rolled a few feet then stopped.

Voyager gave a half-hysterical whinny and shied backwards until she was pressed against the cliff wall.

Doc pounced on Brutus' head to see if he could salvage the personality chip. One glance told him, he couldn't. The robot skull was so badly bent, the component had to be shattered. Doc sighed.

He balanced the horse's head on his hand, "Alas, poor Brutus," he murmured in sympathy.

A spark snapped inside the cavity that had once been covered by the face plate. A voice more faint than a whisper said, "Captain?"

Doc sat back in amazement. "Still with us, old horse? Then let's keep it that way."

Careful not to jar the head, Doc used his other hand to open his CDU and call forth Lifeline, the repair tweaker.

"I hope you don't want me to try to fix that," Lifeline commented, seeing the battered head.

"Just get in there, pull out Brutus' personality program and store it in the CDU," Doc ordered. "And don't sneeze. That component must be pretty fragile."

"Righty-o," the tweaker said.

The white flame slipped into the horse's head and returned a moment later somewhat larger.

"Boy, it was a mess in there," Lifeline said. "The component was all broken, but most of the connections were still touching."

The blazing white tweaker darted back into the CDU and released Brutus' program into the friendly confines of Beta circuitry. Lifeline carefully recharged the program.

"Where am I? What happened?" boomed Brutus' voice from the CDU. Like his rider, Brutus was a traditionalist.

Doc hastened to reassure him. "Your body bit the dust, big guy; but you're safe and sound inside my CDU. How do you feel?"

"Disoriented, Ranger Hartford," the horse replied.

"That's to be expected," Doc said. "Instead of being inside your familiar body, you're inside my little CDU, with company, yet."

"There's plenty of room, whole megabytes of it," Pathfinder protested.

Voyager had inched forward to watch the proceedings, as curiosity overcame squeamishness. She lowered her nose to the CDU.

"Brutus? What's it like in there?" she asked.

"It's not lonely," the horse program answered. "Thank you for the rescue, Ranger Hartford."

"You're welcome, Brutus. I was glad to do it," Doc said. "I hate reprogramming my friends."

"Come on, Brutus. I'll show you around," Pathfinder offered.

"Before you start on the guided tour, Brutus, how about filling me in on what happened here?" Doc said.

Brutus complied, telling the story up to the moment he was felled.

"That's all I know. Captain Fox and Geezy were climbing the cliff to your left. I don't know what happened after that."

Doc couldn't imagine the Crown Agents failing to follow Zachary to the top of the mesa. If they did, they would have to leave their Death Steeds behind. Yet, there was no sign of the Death Steeds who had survived the fight with Brutus.

"The Crown Agents must have come down again and left," Doc decided. "I hope they didn't get Zachary."

Doc decided to explore around the base of the mesa. He didn't have any alternate plans at the moment, and he might be able to tell if anyone came down another way.

He clipped the CDU to his belt, leaving the tweakers to show Brutus around their domain. Voyager trailed behind as Doc set off on foot so he could see the walls better — so he said. He was also glad to stretch his legs and give his buffeted buttocks a rest from Voyager's bouncy stride.

* * *

><p>Doc hadn't walked a mile around the base of mesa before a laser blast fried the crown of his hat.<p>

The ranger knew it couldn't be Zachary this time. As Doc scrambled for the shelter of the cliff, he saw a Crown Agent on top of the mesa. Since the Crown Agents in pursuit of Zachary had been left with one more android than they had operating Death Steeds, the Crown Lieutenant had left a lookout on the mesa, just in case any of the rangers came by.

Doc got lucky.

The Crown Agent aimed a second blast, but it missed as the ranger and Voyager crowded close to the cliff wall.

"He's not a very good shot," Voyager commented, nuzzling the singed cowboy hat.

"I don't plan to send him to marksmanship school," Doc retorted. "That could have been my head!"

"That would have been gross," Voyager said sympathetically.

"Painful, too," Doc said. "Well, he can't see us because of the overhang. As long as we stay close to the cliff, we're safe from laser blasts…"

Doc and Voyager heard a clatter and a metallic clank from above. A black spheroid banded in silver thumped to the ground and rolled into a depression, ending up almost at Doc's feet. It was ticking.

"… but not from bombs," Doc finished sadly.

"A bomb! Can you disarm it?" Voyager asked.

Doc didn't even make a move to try. He recognized the device and felt a fatalistic sense of doom.

"No. Someone must have recognized me, Voyager. This is one of the Queen's megabombs, sturdy enough to drop from a cliff, powerful enough to flatten said cliff, and entirely mechanical. There's not a bit of electronics for me to gimmick. You'd better run, girl. You might be able to get far enough away to save your programming."

Not her body, but maybe her programming, Doc thought sadly.

* * *

><p>Captain Fox and Geezy had jumped two more narrow chasms and put quite a distance between themselves and their pursuers. Despite their lofty vantage point, the two might have been alone in the mesa region. They couldn't see any Crown Agents or rangers.<p>

They had been walking across a wide mesa for some time when Geezy plumped himself on the ground.

"Can't we take a rest," he begged. "My feet are killing me!"

"We've only come a couple of miles," Zachary protested, but he sat down beside the Pendulant.

"A couple of miles for you, ranger humming! Twice that for me," the short-legged alien pointed out, as he gingerly pulled off his boots and rubbed his red, blistered feet.

"You're right, Geezy," Zachary apologized. "I want to find my friends. I'm worried about them."

"You hummings, you're always in a hurry to look for trouble," Geezy scolded. "You should be more cautious."

"Like you Pendulants?" Zachary laughed. "You're the one whose covert armory exploded."

Geezy's face fell. "I can't understand how that happened," he said.

"The Queen planted a bomb on you." Zachary explained about the signals the rangers had picked up. "Someone set you up."

Geezy bristled in indignation. "Some Queen-loving, bamph-kissing, phree shlunk betrayed me? They'll pay for this outrage!" he vowed dramatically, sounding more like the bombastic Pendulant Zachary was familiar with. "We Pendulants are implacable with our enemies. I will track him down and …"

The seated twosome was knocked on their backs by the force of an explosion. A great cloud of dust arose from a canyon two mesas away.

Zachary was on his feet before the ground stopped shaking.

"Come on, Geezy. I think we can get over there if we go around this way."

Zachary set off at a trot, angling toward the left of the explosion.

Geezy followed, hopping on one foot until he got his second boot on; then he ran after the long-legged ranger.

* * *

><p>Despite the menace of the three carnivores, Triton maintained his steady pace. He wasn't in shape to outrun the shaggy carnivores and the slower pace gave Goose a steadier gun platform.<p>

Unfortunately, Goose wasn't in shape for long distance target shooting.

"I'm just wasting my charge," Goose said in disgust, after he sent three shots so wide the shargets didn't even notice them. "I'll have to wait until they come closer."

"How close?" Triton asked, nervous for the sake of his rider.

"Too close."

The shargets had been approaching cautiously. As Goose spoke, they charged, then veered away in a panic as the ground jolted sharply once, then trembled for a long moment.

"Earthquake?" Goose asked, before the fading shivers died away.

"No, the seismic signature is that of a megabomb," Triton said.

"Where?" Goose demanded.

"Back in the mesa region," Triton said reluctantly.

Goose bent his head and prayed none of his friends had been caught in the blast. He didn't have much time to mourn.

"Goose! They're coming back!"

The carnivores had recovered from their shock. Angered by their fright, they charged more savagely than before. Saliva dripped from their roaring jaws. Fore claws were extended, ready to rend and tear.

Triton stood firm, waiting for the attack.

* * *

><p>Niko wasn't sure how long she was unconscious. It had to be several minutes, because her wounded arm had stopped bleeding on its own. Despite the passage of time, nothing had changed when Niko awoke.<p>

Crown Agents and Death Steeds still lay in two junk piles, one large and one small. With a charred crater where his faceplate had been, Mel towered over the rubble like a vandalized statue.

"Mel! Are you all right?" Niko shouted in concern.

Ignoring her disorienting headache, the girl levered herself up awkwardly with one hand. Cradling her wounded arm, she ran to the motionless horse. She pressed a manual reset switch beneath the robot's collar.

Mel shuddered as his systems reactivated.

"Take it easy, Mel," Niko said, stroking the pale copper hide. "You took a blast right in the face and the sensor overload knocked you out."

"Stabilizing internal circuits now," Mel said calmly, without moving a piston. "My visual sensors seem to be damaged, Niko. I am not receiving any input from the visible spectrum, ultraviolet or infrared."

Translation: I'm blind.

Niko fussed over her friend.

"Don't worry, Niko," the horse said. "I'm switching over to full-time sonic sensors. Radio wave and magnetic sensors seem to be working, as well." The stoic horse gave a tiny sigh of relief as the new sensor array began to work. "That's better," he said. "Niko! You're hurt!" he exclaimed, proving his sensors were functioning.

"It's just a scratch," the ranger said.

"No, it's a gouge," the horse objected. He sidled around until his first aid compartment was beside her.

Niko washed the wound with antiseptic, making her eyes water at the stinging pain. Then she wrapped a bandage around the long cut. That wasn't an easy thing to do one handed. It helped when you could hold one end of the bandage by implant-augmented telekinesis.

She also took a pain pill to still her raging headache.

"I don't know if I'll be able to use my talent again today," she told the horse. "That was more painful than I realized."

"If you cannot defeat them one way, you will find another," Mel said confidently. If he could do it, so could she. He firmly believed that humans were more adaptable and in many ways more superior than robots like himself. After all, humans invented robots.

And speaking of inventors…

"If you're all right, let's try to find Doc and Voyager," Mel said.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Niko asked.

Mel nudged an oblong rock about the size of a stubby carrot." Would you throw that into the air for me?" he asked. (Humans had to be superior. They had hands.)

Niko tossed it up. Mel moved under it and caught it on his nose. He balanced it on end like a seal, then flipped it over and over, catching it on the tip each time. Finally, he flipped it backwards over his body. A hind hoof kicked it back to be caught and balanced on an upturned fore hoof.

"I believe this new arrangement of sensors is satisfactorily compensating for the lost visual senses," the horse said judiciously.

"I believe it is," Niko said, chuckled at the no-hands juggling act. She hugged the horse around his beige neck. "I apologize for doubting you."

"I do not need an apology, I appreciate the concern," Mel said, nuzzling his rider.

A monstrous explosion rocked the ground. Niko clung to Mel who braced his four feet against the quake. Echoing and reechoing in the multitude of canyons, the sound of the blast lasted even longer than the tremors.

"What was that?" Niko demanded, when she could make herself heard.

Mel tilted his head this way and that, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He recalibrated his sonic sensors to adjust for any explosion damage; but the high-pitched sound continued.

"Voyager?" he said incredulously.

* * *

><p>When Doc told Voyager to run from the bomb, he should have known she wouldn't listen. She never did.<p>

"But you'll be killed!" Voyager wailed.

She butted Doc away from the bomb then kicked it as far as she could in the opposite direction. The metallic horse scampered after the rolling, skipping device, swatting it with her nose like a double-jointed soccer player whenever she got close enough.

The dial on the bomb told her she was running out of time. She had to dispose of her deadly soccer ball.

"Voyager! The crevice!" Doc shouted.

The horse spotted it, a foot wide crack in the wall. If she got the bomb in there, it would direct the blast away from Doc. The canyon's rock walls would protect him.

Voyager made a skidding turn, rapping the bomb in the new direction.

"The great Voyager takes aim at the goal," the horse muttered to herself. She smacked the bomb with her nose, boosting it into the air. "She shoots! She scores!" the horse caroled triumphantly as the bomb tumbled into the crevice.

Voyager did a prancing dance step of self-congratulation.

"Voyager, run!" Doc shouted in exasperation.

Starting guiltily, Voyager stretched herself in a dead run to get out of the "line of fire" of the crevice.

Three…two…

Doc threw himself into the cover of a boulder, wondering if it would do any good.

One!

The blast tumbled Voyager from her feet and knocked the wind out of the ranger. From opposite sides, they looked at the blast site, in time to see the entire cliff wall collapse. The force of the blast had pulverized solid stone, causing it to slump outward in an avalanche of rock.

The Crown Agent who threw the bomb had given himself plenty of time to get well back from the edge of the cliff; but he didn't count on Voyager knocking the bomb into the cliff. He was very smug about his cleverness, until the ground disintegrated beneath his feet. He dropped into maelstrom of churning, grinding rock.

Voyager whinnied in alarm as the tide of rock rushed toward her. She scrambled to her feet and ran.

Doc was farther from the avalanche, but not as fast as Voyager. He scrambled to the top of a head-high boulder and hoped the flood wouldn't reach him.

From his perch he caught a glimpse of Voyager as the fringe of the avalanche caught her.

Slipping and sliding on the first wave of rocks, Voyager looked around desperately. A huge slab of slate bearing down on her reminded her of a sport she had seen on video. She leaped sideways and landed on the slab. Fighting to keep her balance, she skidded along with the avalanche like a surfer at the Banzai Pipeline.

Faintly Doc heard, "Hang twenty! Horse-abunga!" Then the robot horse disappeared from view.

The ranger shook his head. "That is one nutty horse," he said in tribute, perhaps his last tribute.

Doc watched, helpless, as the tide of rock washed nearer. The impetus was slowing, but it still had a lot of force behind it when it struck his boulder. The pounding rocks chiseled away the base of the boulder. Doc's perch trembled.

"This just hasn't been my day," the ranger sighed.

Doc clung with both hands; then another wave of rock slammed against the boulder. It tilted, throwing Doc into the sea of churning rock.

* * *

><p>Pieces of Voyagers "surfboard" broke off every time it bounced. Finally the whole slab disintegrated beneath her feet. Voyager was propelled into the slowing flood. She tumbled end over end and scraped along the ground until she stopped, half buried in the rubble.<p>

For a moment she lay still, a battered metal hulk, then her sensors reactivated. She fought free of the rock and staggered forward a few shaky paces, until she could brace her feet.

"What a ride!" she exclaimed.

She took stock of the damage. She was dented, scraped and dinged, but seemed to be intact otherwise. Her gyro-balance seemed somewhat off. The whole world seemed to list to the left when she walked; but she could compensate for that. On the whole, she seemed to be in working order, somewhat to her surprise.

Doc would be amazed she thought, then turned to look for her human partner. The canyon they had occupied was gone, filled in by a massive mountain of gravel.

"Wilbur!" Voyager shouted in dismay. "Wilburrrrr!"

The mighty shout echoed off the walls; but there was no reply.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued...<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

_Last chapter of this story, but I have more GR._

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers  
>And the Horse You Rode In On<p>

Part 4

"Wilburrrr!" Voyager's metallic shout echoed off the canyon walls, but received no reply.

The robot horse bent her head in momentary despair, then raised it to study the mountain of loose rock that separated her from her human partner. Galaxy Ranger Walter "Doc" Hartford was on the other side of that mountain — she hoped.

She didn't want to think that he might have been buried under the avalanche of rock that had followed the explosion of the megabomb.

He couldn't be dead, Voyager told herself, not Doc; but he must be hurt or he would have answered her. Her electronic sensors would have picked up his reply, despite the mountain of rubble between them.

Well, if Doc was hurt, Voyager had to get to him.

The robot steed bent her head to scrutinize the pile of loose rock, then launched herself forward. She galloped up the slope, but the loose rock defeated her, sliding out from under her feet until she lost her balance and tumbled to the foot of the mountain.

Voyager picked herself up, shook the dust from her blue metal hide and backed up for a running start. She got a little higher, but not much. At least this time she kept her footing and slid to the bottom on her four hooves.

She tried twice more, picking different angles of attack; but the results were the same. The last time, she crashed to the ground with a jar that dazed her sensors for a long moment. She got up slowly.

"Wilburrrr!" she screamed with every decibel her vocal circuits could muster.

"Voyager? What's wrong?" Galaxy Ranger Niko demanded, as she and Mel cantered up. They had tracked Voyager's shouts through the maze of canyons.

Voyager was immensely glad to see two familiar faces. Rather, one familiar face, since Mel's faceplate had been destroyed by a pointblank shot from a Crown Agent's blaster. The loss of his face and accompanying visual sensors didn't seem to bother Mel much. He simply compensated with other sensors.

Voyager hardly registered the damage to Mel or Niko's bandaged forearm. She rushed up to her friends, babbling an explanation.

"There was a megabomb. I tried to get it away from Doc, but there wasn't time, so I pushed it into a crack in the cliff, so Doc and I wouldn't be hurt by the blast, and we weren't, but the cliff collapsed and rock filled up the canyon and I don't know what happened to Doc and I can't get back to him," she wailed.

"Take it easy, girl," Niko said. She dismounted from Mel and stroked Voyager's neck in a comforting manner.

Voyager was peculiar, Niko thought. It was funny how she called Doc "Wilbur" to his face; but never referred to him as Wilbur when she talked about him to someone else. She knew his name, all right. Whenever anyone asked, Voyager simply explained that "Wilbur" was the proper way for a talking horse to address her rider. Doc had never been able to figure it out.

Niko was grateful that "Wilbur" only seemed to apply to male riders, since she and Doc traded off on Voyager and Mel. Voyager had a more comfortable stride, but Mel had the more comfortable personality.

"Niko, what are we going to do?" Voyager asked more calmly.

"Let me see if I can find out anything," the ranger replied. She touched the badge on her belt buckle, activating her psychometry; then she touched Voyager's saddle.

Niko's eyes went from green to violet as her talent kicked in. She saw beyond the mountain of rubble. Eyes closed, Doc lay unmoving, buried up to his thighs in loose rock. A trickle of blood dripped down his forehead. The only reassuring part of the picture was that he was still breathing.

"He's hurt, but he's still alive," Niko told the horses, as she came out of her trance. "We've got to find a way to get to him."

"That's what I've been trying to do," Voyager complained.

"We're not going to be able to go over the rubble," Mel said. "We must find a way around."

"Let's start looking," Niko said.

She remounted Mel. Followed by Voyager, they headed toward a side canyon.

* * *

><p>"Doc! Doc!" muffled, high-pitched voices called the ranger back to the living world.<p>

"Oh, what hit me?" he moaned.

"Most of the mountainside, I'm afraid," answered Brutus' deep voice.

Doc opened his eyes to find himself lying in a shallow "pool" of loose rock and gravel. Fortunately, he had fallen into the last swell of landslide. He had managed to land feet first, but the flow had knocked him down almost immediately. He had fallen heavily, twisting his knee and cracking his head. He wiped half-dried blood from the cut on his forehead.

"Might have spilled more than blood if I hadn't had my hat on," he murmured, patting the Zangwill hat. "You'll never be a fashion statement, but I like your style," he told the saggy, scorched, brown cowboy hat.

Doc levered himself out of the gravel, wincing at the pain in his knee. Free of the rock, he probed the damage. It wasn't broken, but it was swollen, seeming twice its normal size. He couldn't put any pressure on it.

Apart from that, he didn't find much damage. His boots and chaps had protected his legs from the battering rocks.

His gun was missing from his holster, lost beneath the rocks. Fortunately, his CDU was still fastened to his belt. The gun might be more use in the rocky remains of a canyon, but the CDU had personality. To be precise, it had five personalities: Pathfinder, Lifeline, Tripwire, Firefly and Brutus.

"Everybody all right in there?" he asked, opening the Computer Diagnostic Unit. The four tweakers zipped out and darted around, glad to be out in the open and glad Doc was OK.

"We're all fine," Lifeline reassured their boss.

"How about you, Brutus?" Doc asked the program inside the CDU.

"A little cramped, but still functioning," the onetime robot horse assured the ranger.

Lifeline, the repair tweaker, zipped around Doc's injured knee. "I wish I could fix humans, boss," he said regretfully.

"I wish you could, too," Doc agreed. "Pathfinder, the first order of business is to try to find me some transportation," the black ranger ordered.

"You know I can't go very far, Doc," the tweaker said dubiously. In a computer, with an energy system to draw from, he could go miles. Out in the open air, he needed to stay close to Doc.

"I know. Do what you can. Maybe you'll get lucky," Doc said wearily. He closed his eyes against the pain.

"Pathfinder, take me with you," Brutus urged. "Transportation is my business."

"Good idea," Doc agreed without opening his eyes. Pathfinder darted back into the CDU, absorbed Brutus' programming, then flew off on his mission. "Keep in touch, guys. Write if you get work," Doc sighed.

He pulled his hat over his eyes to block out the sun. There wasn't anywhere to go or anything else to do and he frankly didn't want to be conscious if the Crown Agents found him before the rangers did. So he went to sleep.

* * *

><p>With three half-starved carnivores charging at him, Ranger Shane Gooseman didn't feel a bit sleepy. Triton stood statue-still as the two-legged beasts galloped toward them, the claws extended on their forepaws.<p>

His injuries prevented Goose from getting off an accurate, long range shot. He had to wait until the beasts were too close for comfort before he fired.

Set on maximum stun, Goose's blaster cut down the largest sharget. He couldn't correct his aim fast enough to get a second.

"Go!" he shouted.

Triton's bunched hindquarters uncoiled propelling him forward. One leap carried him out of the carnivore's path, then he froze again.

The remaining two beasts spun more quickly than one would have thought possible. Goose stunned one, but the other was right on top of him. Triton bucked forward, giving a mule kick with his steel-shod hind feet. Both hooves caught the carnivore under the chin. The beast collapsed, unconscious.

Unfortunately, Triton's abrupt plunge threw Goose from the saddle. The already-injured ranger crashed to the ground. He rolled to his back and lay still.

"Goose?" the frightened Triton called. "Goose!"

* * *

><p>Niko eyed the narrow cleft in the wall. It appeared to go all the way through the mesa.<p>

"That looks like it goes the right direction," she said.

Mel studied it and calculated. "Yes, it does," he agreed. "It would take you to Doc, if it goes all the way through," he warned.

"I'll have to chance it," she said.

She slipped off Mel. The fissure was too narrow for the horses. Only someone as slender and agile as Niko could get through it.

"You may be able to get to Doc this way, but he won't be able to come out this way," Mel said.

"You'll have to keep looking for another way around," Niko said.

"Orphaned again," Voyager sighed.

The horses watched Niko edge through the crack until she disappeared around a bend. Even then, they didn't make any move to leave. They gazed into the crevice, waiting to see if Niko would be forced to retrace her steps.

"You two looking for mice?"

Voyager shied and whinnied in alarm. Mel looked up calmly.

"Hello, captain," he said, as Ranger Captain Zachary Fox slid down the embankment next to them.

"You two look the worse for wear," Zachary said in concern.

"We're still functioning, but we won't win any beauty prizes, captain," Mel agreed.

"Speak for yourself, Mel," Voyager said, tossing her mane as if in disdain. Her chassis was pitted and scarred, her rider was missing, but her spirit was intact.

"Captain, you seem to be damaged yourself," Mel said, to show his sensors were functioning despite the hole in his faceplate.

Zachary touched his face gingerly. It seemed long ago that it had been burned while he was escaping from Geezy's burning hideout.

"You could say that," Zachary agreed. "But I'm still hanging in there." He looked up. "Come on, Geezy," he called.

The Pendulant peered over the edge of the low cliff — low for a six-foot human, not so low for a three-and-a-half-foot Pendulant.

"You hummings are crazy!" Geezy shouted.

"This humming has transportation," Zachary answered, patting Mel's flank. "Think of your blisters."

Geezy thought of them. He sighed, closed his eyes and jumped. Zachary caught him and set him directly on Mel's back.

"This is Mel," Zachary said. "He'll take care of you."

"Welcome aboard, Geezy," the pale copper horse said.

Geezy rubbed his swollen, aching feet.

"Glad to be here," he said sincerely.

Zachary deliberately put Geezy on the steady Mel, leaving the flightier Voyager for himself.

"What are you two doing here alone?" he asked. "Where are Doc and Niko?"

Voyager hung her head. "Doc's hurt and Niko went through there to try to get to him," she said, bobbing her head at the fissure. Voyager explained what had happened to her and Doc. Mel told his story and Niko's.

Zachary studied the fissure and knew he wouldn't be able to squeeze through.

"Looks like we need to find another road," he said.

He swung aboard Voyager who staggered sideways.

"Wow! You're heavy!" the horse complained. "Lopsided, too."

"Voyager!" Mel was outraged. That was no way to talk to the captain.

"No, she's right," Zachary said. "My bionics do make me lopsided. Why do you think I ride a 3000 model, Voyager? At least, I used to ride one," he added sadly.

Voyager bent her head around to nuzzle Zachary's knee. "All you need is a new chassis; then Doc can take Brutus out of the CDU," she said.

"You mean his program is all right?" Zachary said with incredulous hope.

"Doc rescued him and put him with the tweakers," Voyager said confidently; then her head drooped again. "But now Doc's in trouble. I don't know if any of them are all right."

"Then we'd better go find out," Zachary said. He pointed the horses toward a promising canyon he had seen from above.

* * *

><p>Pathfinder carried Brutus through the canyons, looking for transportation for Doc. He couldn't go very far from Doc, but found several canyons within his range. He checked out two with no luck.<p>

I can't sense any of the other horses," he told the Brutus program.

"I hope that means they are out of your range and not that they ended up like me," Brutus replied with an electronic sigh. "Can you sense Captain Fox?" he asked wistfully.

"No, I can't sense his bionics. The only Beta equipment within my range is the CDU and Doc's blaster. There's something on the far edge of my range — might be Voyager. It's the direction she went, anyway."

"I hope she's all right. I hope all of them are …"

"Hey, what's that?" Pathfinder interrupted. The glowing blue tweaker paused in mid-air.

Pathfinder darted ahead. Straining at the edge of his link with Doc, the tweaker skipped around a corner, to spot a riderless Death Steed.

"Ooh, come to poppa," Pathfinder crooned.

The Death Steed shied away from the hovering blue globe. Pathfinder approached gently, but the steed kept sidling away. With each approach, however, the tweaker got a little bit closer until he was within striking range.

"Gotcha!" Pathfinder crowed as he plunged into the Death Steed's head.

The robot bucked once, then quieted when Pathfinder released Brutus into the Death Steed's circuitry. The Crown programming was no match for a Doc Hartford special Artificial Intelligence program. A Death Steed had little self-motivation and little free will. It was subject to its rider. Brutus simply pushed the Crown programming aside, relegating it to a tiny corner of its circuitry. The Crown programming stayed put docilely. Rebellion was unthinkable to it.

As Pathfinder left, Brutus probed the various systems. He kicked, reared, swiveled his head from side to side.

"Poor sensor systems. Lightweight construction. Not very strong," he said scornfully.

"But it's fast," Pathfinder reminded the ranger steed.

Brutus was horse enough to admit that was true. His investigation uncovered an unfamiliar control system. "I wonder what this does?" he mused.

A laser blast streaked past the hovering Pathfinder.

"Yikes!" the program exclaimed.

"How interesting," Brutus said.

"Come on, let's get back to Doc," Pathfinder urged.

"I'm right behind you," Brutus answered, kicking up his heels for the sheer pleasure of it.

* * *

><p>"Goose!" Triton called urgently.<p>

"Give me a minute, Triton," the ranger said breathlessly.

The horse gave an electronic sigh of relief.

The jar of the landing made Goose hurt all over. Holding onto Triton's stirrup, the ranger dragged himself to his knees. He climbed the saddle hand over hand, until he reached his feet. Holding the saddle horn with a death grip, Goose gasped for breath until his insubordinate body ceased trembling.

He tried to raise his foot to the stirrup, but the pain was too great. He was too weak to mount the robot horse.

"Looks like I'll have to walk, pal," Goose told Triton.

"It's not far now," Triton offered in consolation.

"It'll seem a lot farther before we get there," Goose predicted wearily.

* * *

><p>Voyager stumbled, then began to limp on her left leg. Zachary reined her to a halt.<p>

"What's wrong, girl?" he asked, as he slid off.

Voyager bent her neck to study her left foreleg.

"I think I'm broken," she said mournfully.

Zachary found the leg's housing was cracked two-thirds of the way around, exposing cables and circuitry. There was a deep dent at the site, caused by Voyager's earlier misadventures with the explosion and landslide. The damaged metal had held up for awhile, but the extra strain of Zachary's unbalanced weight had caused it to rip apart.

"Sorry, Voyager. I think I broke your leg," the captain apologized. He touched his badge. His bionic arm powered up. It was barely half power, but it would do, he decided.

"Are you going to have to shoot me?" Voyager asked tremulously, trying to be brave.

Zachary chuckled and patted her neck. "No, I lost one horse today. I don't intend to lose another. I'm just going to weld your leg casing back together. Now hold still."

Voyager froze obediently while Zachary brought the pieces together. Focusing energy down his forefinger, the captain delicately tacked the pieces back together. Satisfied the broken edges matched, he melted them together.

"Now you stay off that until it cools," Zachary admonished.

"Yes sir."

"I can easily carry both you and Geezy, captain," Mel offered.

"All right, but tell me if you feel the strain," Zachary said, as he swung aboard the beige metal horse. "We've had enough injuries today," he said, gingerly touching a stinging burn on his face.

* * *

><p>The crevice narrowed at the end. Niko decided to risk getting trapped because she could see light at the other end. It was a tight squeeze even for the slender girl. Trying to keep her wounded arm clear, she banged the other one twice and scraped her side on an outcropping of rock; but she emerged triumphant.<p>

She felt even more triumphant when a short walk brought her in view of Doc. She scrambled over loose rock and knelt beside her friend. She called his name softly and lifted up his hat. She saw two brown eyes blink at her.

"Hello, Niko, what are you doing here?" Doc asked casually.

Niko breathed a sigh of relief and replied in the same light vein.

"I just happened to be in the neighborhood. We're having a sale on mattresses today," she said, as she helped Doc sit up. "Perhaps you'd care to buy one. This one looks rather lumpy," she said, gesturing at the rubble.

"A little," Doc admitted. "There's only one thing worse than lying on top of a rock slide."

"What's that?" asked his obedient straight woman.

"Lying under one," Doc said darkly.

"You have a point there," Niko agreed.

She helped Doc off the loose rocks into the shade of his upturned boulder. Doc sat down with a sigh of relief, then realized something was missing from the scene.

"Niko! Where's Mel? Don't tell me you lost your horse, too!" he exclaimed. "First Zach, then me, now you. It must be contagious."

Niko chuckled. "I left Mel with Voyager. They were too big to squeeze through the opening we found."

"Is Voyager all right?"

"She's a little dented and she's worried about you. Otherwise, she's fine."

"Good, she saved my life with her nutty stunt," Doc said. "I'd hate to see her hurt for it."

"I know what you mean," Niko said. "Mel saved me from some Crown Agents and got blasted in the face. He's all right," she said hastily, reassuring Doc. "He's operating on backup sensors, but he seems to do just fine."

Doc nodded. "Mel's backups are more accurate than most primary sensor arrays. One of my better jobs."

"If you do say so yourself," Niko teased, though she privately agreed and Doc knew it. "Let me take care of that ankle before you do any more damage to it," she said.

Niko used her boot knife to slit Doc's pant leg and chaps. He winced.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked anxiously.

"Only my wallet," Doc told her. "Goose is the one with the triple clothing allowance, not me."

"I'll testify you ruined your uniform in the line of duty, if you do the same for me," she said, holding up her torn sleeve.

The blood stained bandage brought sympathy to Doc's eyes. "You know, this has been a rough mission," he said. "Goose and Triton were hurt in the explosion. Brutus' body was trashed, though I managed to save his personality program. He tells me Zachary was singed in the fire. Nobody's coming out of this in one piece."

"Except Geezy," Niko suggested.

Doc looked outraged at the very thought. Before he could say anything, the rangers heard the crunch of a footstep in the gravel. They turned and saw a Death Steed.

Its laser horns swiveled in their direction. Its rider grinned wickedly.

"This is our lucky day. We've captured two Galaxy Rangers," the Crown Agent gloated in his metallic voice.

Three other Crown Agents rode up and arranged themselves in a semi-circle around the rangers. Niko cursed silently. Her hands were full of bandages. She had no chance to get to her gun. Doc started to edge his hand toward Niko's holster, but was stopped by a harsh word from the Crown Agent.

"Don't try anything," he warned. "Take their weapons," he ordered one of the others.

The second Crown Agent dismounted and took Niko's blaster. The girl tensed herself, but the agent never gave her a chance to attack.

Approaching hoof steps gave her hope of rescue, which was immediately dashed. Looking back, one of the Crown Agents recognized the approaching Death Steed.

"It's one of ours," he said.

The Death Steed didn't act like one of theirs. When it saw the captive rangers, it lowered its laser horns and charged, firing wildly.

"Galaxy Rangers, Ho!" it bellowed in Brutus' deep voice.

The rear attack threw the four Crown Agents into confusion, just the distraction Niko needed.

Her foot swept out and knocked their captor down.

Though unarmed and unable to stand, Doc was far from helpless. He grabbed his CDU and released the tweakers.

"Sic 'em, boys!"

"Let me at 'em!" Firefly exclaimed enthusiastically.

The blazing fireball shot across the intervening space and into a Death Steed. The Crown Agents' circuitry was too well shielded for one of Doc's programs to enter, but the horses were more cheaply made. Firefly sent the robot creature berserk. It bucked off its android rider and trampled him. The other tweakers, including Pathfinder, also attacked the Death Steeds.

"Not me! I'm on your side!" Brutus protested as Lifeline shot toward him.

"Sorry!" the tweaker said, as he veered away. "All Death Steeds look alike to me."

Niko recovered her gun and finished off her victim. She turned to help the others, but the tweakers had done their jobs well. As a final move, each tweaker shorted out the circuitry of the Death Steeds. The tweakers returned to the CDU leaving horsey statues behind them.

"Nice job, guys," Doc complimented as the tweakers dove back into the CDU. "All the Queen's horses and all the Queen's men, couldn't put that mess back together again."

Pathfinder paused in front of the rangers.

"So, what do you think of Brutus' new look?" the tweaker asked.

Brutus obligingly showed off both sides of the Death Steed.

"I don't know," Niko said, shaking her head judiciously. "It's just not you, Brutus."

"I think it's lovely," Doc disagreed. "I never saw a Death Steed look more attractive!"

"Thank you, sir," the horse replied.

Doc began to wrap the rest of the bandage around his knee. Niko bent to help him.

"You know, we've taken out more than half of the Crown Agents. There can't be very many left," Doc said.

He asked the others how many Crown Agents they had accounted for. Niko said she and Mel took out four. Brutus said Zachary's thunderbolt took out three plus the Slaver Lord. He didn't know how many he had destroyed in his battle, but Doc did. He had counted the remains, including the three Zachary had felled with rocks. He also knew how many he and Niko had shot down while they were together.

"By my count, that only leaves five Crown Agents," the computer expert announced, discounting the Death Steeds who were not programmed to initiate action by themselves. "While we have three rangers and three horses, plus Geezy …"

"Don't forget us!" squeaked a voice from the CDU.

"… and four tweakers," Doc added. "That makes eleven. We've got the bad guys outnumbered!"

"So what are we waiting for?" Niko asked.

"Let's kick transistors!" Firefly enthused.

* * *

><p>The five remaining Crown Agents, who didn't know they were the only remaining Crown Agents, chose the opposite tactic from the rangers. Searching for the rangers hadn't worked very well (even less well than they knew). They decided to set a trap instead.<p>

Like everyone else within miles, the Crown Lieutenant had detected the explosion of the megabomb. He knew the rangers would investigate, so he and his troop staked out one of the main canyons heading in the direction of the explosion.

They let Zachary, Geezy, Mel and Voyager pass, then charged out from a side canyon.

Mel and Voyager surged into high gear, as laser blasts sang past.

"I have a strange feeling of deja vu, Mel," Voyager said blithely.

Mel didn't answer. His sensors were probing ahead.

"Voyager, will your leg stand up to a jump of 3.2 meters?" he asked abruptly.

"Sure. Why?"

"They have set a trap for us ahead," the pale copper horse replied. "Probe the ground with your sonics. They have stretched a cloth over a fissure and covered it with earth."

"That's a dirty trick," Voyager said, with a small whinny at her own pun. "OK, I see it," she added.

"Get ready Geezy, captain. We're jumping … now!"

The Crown Lieutenant gnashed his metal teeth when he saw his prey soar over his carefully laid trap.

"After them!" he shouted.

But the Crown Agents and Death Steeds didn't have the sensor equipment to detect the carefully hidden chasm. Four of the Death Steeds vaulted the unseen gap, but one jumped too soon. It caught the far lip and scrabbled for a hold, finally drawing itself up to the surface. Its rider wasn't so lucky. The Crown Agent vanished into the apparently bottomless pit.

"Ha! Justice triumphs," Geezy crowed. "They fell into their own trap!"

Laser fire scorched by. Geezy yelped and ducked.

"Only one of them fell," Zachary reminded the Pendulant. "We still have four on our tails."

With Voyager's leg damaged and Mel carrying double, the horses were not at their peak speed. They barely held their lead. That ended when a laser blast struck the ground just before Mel set down his foot. The small crater threw off his balance. He felt himself going down and shouted at the captain to jump.

Zachary vaulted from the saddle, taking Geezy with him. Trying to protect the civilian, Zachary landed hard. The wind was knocked out of him and he lay in the path of the oncoming Death Steeds. Geezy tugged at his arm, but Zachary was too heavy to drag.

Desperate, the Pendulant grabbed the ranger's blaster from his holster. Geezy was not a Pendulant of action; but a being's got to do what a being's got to do. Holding the heavy weapon in two small hands, he fired into the onrushing troop.

As tightly packed as they were, it would have been hard for him to miss. He didn't. He caught the Lieutenant's steed in the chest. It collapsed, tangling the legs of the others as it fell. The whole charge came crashing down.

Geezy was amazed.

"That'll teach them," he blustered.

Then the four Crown Agents got up. They raised their blasters.

"Oh oh," the Pendulant gulped.

Mel threw his body between Geezy and the attackers. A shot from the Lieutenant pierced the metal horse's crouching body.

"That hurt," he complained.

"My turn," Zachary wheezed. Crouching behind Mel, he pressed his badge. He felt the power swell, but it was weak. He hoped it would be enough.

He intended a broad sweep, but his blast came out as a faint, narrow beam. It lifted the Lieutenant from his feet and threw him against the wall. The three remaining Crown Agents were untouched, though momentarily confused by the loss of their leader.

"Oh oh," Zachary muttered.

Voyager was on her feet looking the way they had been running. Her auditory sensors picked up someone approaching. The footsteps were ominously familiar.

"Captain, there's a Death Steed approaching from behind!" the blue horse called.

"Double oh oh," Zachary said under his breath. He took his gun back from Geezy, as the Crown Agents decided to take cover and snipe at the ranger. "See what you can do, Voyager. I'm a little busy right now."

"Yes sir," the horse said helplessly.

She charged gallantly around the corner and came face to face with the Death Steed — which had Doc and Niko on its back.

"Hello, Voyager," the Death Steed said in Brutus' voice.

"Is that you making all the noise?" Doc asked.

"Oh! It's not the enemy. It's the cavalry!" Voyager said joyously. "Hurry! Captain Fox needs help!"

"Zachary!" Brutus pelted forward carrying his passengers with him whether they wanted to or not. Fortunately, they wanted to.

With Niko's gun, Brutus's double blasters and Doc's appropriated Crown Agent laser, the cavalry made short work of the severely outnumbered Crown Agents.

Brutus turned away from the decimated enemy and ran to his rider. "Zachary … Captain, are you all right?" he asked, nuzzling Zach so powerfully, he almost knocked the ranger off his feet.

"I'm fine, Brutus. Take it easy!" Zachary said, laughing.

"Sorry, sir," the horse said.

Zachary thumped the "Death Steed" affectionately.

"I understand, you're not yourself today," the captain said, deadpan.

"Pretty bad, captain," Doc said with admiration, as he gingerly slid off Brutus to meet Voyager's exuberant greeting.

She spotted the bandage on his knee and lifted her own bad leg in comparison.

"I see they didn't shoot you, either, Wilbur," she said.

Doc sighed, then stroked her nose with affection.

Niko dropped to her knees beside Mel, asking him if he was all right.

"Slight damage to my first aid compartment," he reported as he rose to his feet. "It's a good thing you took the case with you when you went to look for Doc."

Niko hugged her solid, practical horse. He nudged her affectionately.

A ways apart from the reunion, the Crown Lieutenant began to stir. The charge in Zachary's implant had grown too weak. The Lieutenant had been stunned, but not demolished. When his sensors first revived, he considered playing possum and waiting until the rangers left; but he knew what the Queen of the Crown would do, if he returned alone.

It was far better to die at the hands of the enemy, especially if he could take a couple of them with him. The distraction of the reunion provided him with a better chance than he had hoped for.

"Put up your hands!" he ordered.

"I don't have hands," Voyager protested.

The Crown Lieutenant shot her in the neck.

"That wasn't very nice," she said.

She started toward him, but the Crown Lieutenant aimed his weapon at the rangers. Voyager stopped.

"You won't get away with this," Zachary said calmly. (Officers get to use all the cliches.) "Just look behind you."

"Do you think I'll fall for that old trick?" the Lieutenant sneered. (See what I mean?)

"It's your funeral," Niko shrugged, snagging the cliche before anyone else could.

Ranger One vaporized the Crown Lieutenant before he even realized it was there.

"Is that all you saved me, one Crown Agent?" Goose complained over the ship's loudspeaker. From above, the ship's sensors could scan the whole Fractured Land. The sensors showed nothing but a couple of stray Death Steeds.

"I told you, you'd get leftovers if you came late," Doc said severely.

Geezy peeked through his fingers. He saw Ranger One descending vertically into the widest place in the canyon.

"Is it over?" the Pendulant asked.

"It's over," Zachary affirmed.

Geezy's lop-ears rose in pleasure.

"The world will hear of your courage," the Pendulant vowed. "Your triumphant battle against the odds will be sung in every corner of Tortuna. It will make the Queen know fear and give the underground new hope. You will serve as a shining beacon, ranger humming."

"Geezy!" Zachary snapped.

The Pendulant's ears drooped. He knew he was about to be corrected again.

Zachary smiled.

"That's captain ranger humming to you, Pendulant."

Geezy brightened again. He would never forget that Zachary had risked his life and Brutus had sacrificed his body to save his life. He pumped his savior's hand.

"Bless you, Zachary Fox," Geezy said fervently. "Bless you and the horse you rode in on."

* * *

><p>Doc reprogrammed Brutus' Death Steed to take Geezy home, then took Brutus' program back into the CDU.<p>

The computer expert waved good-bye to the Pendulant, then returned to Ranger One. Mel had already joined Triton in the rear compartment of the small craft, but a balky Voyager was giving Niko trouble.

"It's no fair! Brutus gets to ride in front! Why can't I?"

"Voyager, there's no room for your bulky body up front. If you want to join Brutus in the CDU, then you can ride with us," Doc said in exasperation.

Voyager considered it for a moment. "That depends. Do they have wide screen TV in there?"

"No," Doc and Pathfinder said truthfully. Neither mentioned the video games.

"I guess not," the horse sighed. She folded her legs on the platform and permitted herself to be stowed away.

* * *

><p>The least battered of the four rangers, Zachary took the controls and lifted Ranger One off Tortuna. Goose sat beside him in the co-pilot's seat. The blond ranger was happy that he had gotten a piece of the action, even if it had been a tiny piece.<p>

"Hey, Goose, I thought you weren't a music lover," Doc said slyly, from the seat behind the blond ranger.

Goose flushed when he realized he'd been humming "Oh, Tortuna."

"I don't mind music, Doc. Just not when we're on Tortuna," he protested. "Leaving Tortuna. Now that's a reason to sing."

"I know a cue when I hear one," Niko laughed.

She began to sing. The other rangers joined in, accompanied by five-part harmony from the CDU.

Hearing the echoes of song back in the storage compartment, one damaged, dented horse gave a long-suffering sigh.

"I always miss all the excitement," she complained.

Mel and Triton snorted.

_"The Milky Way was curdled_  
><em>And the Big Dipper got bent.<em>  
><em>We traveled through a black hole<em>  
><em>And returned before we went.<em>

_"Oh, Tortuna!  
>Oh, don't you cry for us.<br>We're gonna make our fortunes soon.  
>Utopia or bust!"<em>


End file.
